Not So Bad
by Black Lighted Clouds
Summary: Matt and Scott have been fighting for far too long. Jamie tries to help and it leads them into an unexpected situation. Is M due to later chapters. To hell with hints, my other fics and the main genre already gave it away: Matt/Scott romance
1. Chapter 1

Pedro and Jamie were playing cards in the kitchen, Professor Chambers was in her study and Richard was attempting to take a nap in his room. All four of them, however, could still hear the verbal abuse Matt and Scott were hurling at each other in the living room. After running out of excuses to break up their arguments before it got physical, it became an unspoken agreement among them all to let them bicker and to only interfere when they started hitting each other.

"Looks like it'll be one of those days, Pedro."

The other male hummed his agreement. This argument always resulted in violence; it was about Matt's inability to trust Scott.

"Why can't you just accept that I want to help you?! Why are you so determined to make me the bad guy, huh?!"

"It's not like that! I'm pointing out facts! And don't say they're unfounded, because they've already proved they can control you when you were very nearly responsible for Senator Trelawney's death! If Jamie hadn't been there to stop you-!"

"Well he was there and he did stop me! It was a one-time thing! Just get over it! It's not like I've ever done anything to you!"

"THAT'S NOT THE POINT!! How do you know it was a one-time thing?! What's to say that if one of them walked through that door and ordered you to do something, you wouldn't obey them?!"

"Because I don't want to obey them!"

"Oh, so you did want to get Trelawney killed, is that what you're telling me?!"

"I WANTED THEM TO STOP ELECTROCUTING ME!!"

Silence rang through the whole house like a gong. Scott had never confided with them, not even Jamie, what had happened at Silent Creek and now, it seemed, he couldn't stand to keep it to himself any longer.

"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT IT WAS LIKE?! THEY STRAPPED ME TO A METAL TABLE, ELECTROCUTED ME, PUMPED GOD KNOWS WHAT INTO MY VEINS, GAVE ME BEARLY ENOUGH FOOD AND WATER TO KEEP ME ALIVE – I WANTED IT TO END!!"

"So you wanted to kill a man so you could escape some pain?"

_Crash! _The sound of something heavy breaking and the thud of flesh on flesh told Pedro and Jamie it was time to intervene. They sprinted into the living room and took in their surroundings: Matt and Scott gripping each other's shirts with their fists raised, Matt spitting out blood from Scott's previous strike, the wooden coffee table in splinters on the floor. The other two boys ran forward, Pedro seizing Matt around his waist, Jamie grabbing both of his brothers arms from behind, and dragged them to different sides of the room, holding them back until they calmed down. When Scott refused to stop struggling after four minutes, Jamie called to Pedro, "I'm going to take him up to our room, okay?"

Pedro nodded his consent, not having any problems as Matt had stopped struggling almost as soon as he started. Jamie pushed Scott's arms back to his sides and wrapped his arms around both of them and his chest, pulling him out of the room with as much strength as he could muster. Once they were at their bedroom door, Jamie kicked it open, threw his twin inside and slammed the door closed, leaning heavily on the wood.

He opened his eyes and looked at his brother in the middle of the room, who, surprisingly, was not attempting to get passed his brother back out to beat Matt to a bloody pulp. Jamie peered closer to see his brothers face properly – and that's when he got very scared. Scott's eyes were wide and horrified. He kept twitching like he was being shocked, as he had been doing in his sleep for a while now. He was pale and sweaty and looked as if he were about to vomit.

Jamie moved towards him and gently pushed him down to sit on the bed. He continued to stare at the floor, not really seeing it. The younger twin was fighting against rising panic, not sure how to help. When Scott started shaking, he figured the only thing he could do was be there for his big brother; he folded his arms around Scott's quivering form, holding him close and stroking his back. The elder twin rested his head against the younger's shoulder and they sat in silence.

Jamie had no idea how long they were there, but it must have been a while, because the peaceful atmosphere in the room was broken by Professor Chambers shouting up the stairs, "Jamie! Scott! Dinner's ready!"

Jamie nudged his brother, who just shook his head. They may have been the Telepathic Twins, but they didn't need telepathy to understand each other. Jamie nodded and mumbled, "I'll be right back."

Jamie marched down the stairs quickly and into the dining room. Pedro and Matt were sitting together on one side, Professor Chambers was at the head of the table and Richard was directly opposite her; two places had been left empty for the brothers. Turning, they all looked at Jamie standing by himself.

"Thanks, but we'll go without tonight, okay?" Without waiting for the protests he knew were about to be hurled at him, Jamie walked back out the room and sprinted up the stairs to continue comforting his brother.

XXXXX

Matt lay in bed that night, staring at the ceiling, unable to sleep. He shouldn't have said it. He knew he shouldn't have said it and he regrets saying it, but he did say it. It was out of anger; it wasn't out of spite or an attempt to hurt Scott, but that's exactly what he had done. He now knows that Scott has been through Hell and back and he's sorry it had to happen to him, but the fact was he couldn't be trusted.

"Why am I the only one who sees we can't trust him?" He muttered aloud.

"Because what you think you see isn't there."

Matt bolted upright in bed and stared at Jamie, standing in the doorway in complete darkness. He hadn't even heard him open the door. Jamie turned on the light and closed the door, turning to glare at Matt ferociously. _I thought his brother was the only one who could do that_, Matt thought.

He sighed. "What is it, Jamie?"

"You know damn well what 'it' is."

Matt decided getting angry again would not help. "Look, Jamie, I'm sorry for what happened to your brother, I really am, but he cannot be trusted! That's a fact."

There was a pause. Then, "I guess you actually didn't know what 'it' was."

Matt's head jerked up in surprise. Jamie shifted uncomfortably before sitting on the end of Matt's bed as he tried to explain himself. "Matt, I know you don't trust him and I can understand how you would feel that way. I'm not asking for you to change your mind," Matt stared in shock, "I just want you to lay off with the arguments and the jibe's and shoving it in his face."

Matt frowned. "Shoving what in his face?"

"What do you think?!" Jamie snarled hotly. Matt leaned back, unaccustomed to Jamie's current attitude. "Scott's always tried to be a good person and then the Silent Creek thing happened and then when we come here, to where I thought he could get help and we'd be safe, you're constantly having arguments about how he's a liability and he can't be trusted. That's like a giant slap in the face to him."

Jamie jumped to his feet once more, unable to stay still in his anger, "How do you think it makes him feel? To know he might put all of us in danger? To know that he can't fight as well as he used to? To have a horrible feeling constantly gnawing away at him that they just might be able to control him again and make him hurt someone? Do you even care how he feels? Or are he and I just a means to an end to you?"

Jamie stopped his restless pacing and stalked to the door, opening it and stepping out, spilling light into the dark hallway. He turned and looked Matt in the eye, "You're a lot of things, Matt. But I never would've thought you could be that cruel." He stepped back and clicked off the light, shutting the door after him and leaving Matt in total darkness.

**A/N: It's not over yet.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: This was supposed to be longer, but I'm in a bit of a bind of how to end it and it's taking too long; so I thought I'd give the first part of it now and stretch the next one out a bit. Sorry if it's too short.**

The atmosphere in the hacienda for the next couple of days was almost unbearable. Scott and Jamie stayed in their room constantly, only coming out a few times to use the bathroom or eat. Richard and the professor decided to let them get on with it, as them getting involved didn't seem the most promising way to fix the situation. Matt and Pedro stuck together too, mostly watching TV or DVD's.

On the fifth day, just when everybody was on the verge of breaking completely, Matt walked straight up to Scott. Nobody did anything obviously tense, but they all knew the others were listening intently. Matt said quietly, "Can I talk to you?"

Scott shrugged and got up, Matt gestured to the garden and they walked out. When the other twin was standing up, the blue-eyed boy shook his head, a pleading look on his face. He wanted to be alone with Scott. The door closed with an audible _snap! _The four people in the room looked at each other and one thing clicked in their heads simultaneously.

Scott turned on his heel on the porch to face Matt and waited. Matt swallowed and said, "Have you ever been to the dream world?"

". . . What?"

"You know . . . that weird place we go to when we fall asleep that gives us hints-"

"Yes, I know what you mean, I meant' 'what' as in what the hell are you going on about? Exactly how is this relevant?" Scott was getting rather annoyed.

"Just hear me out," Matt began. "I had a dream last night where I was in a library in the world. You ever been there?"

Scott shook his head. Matt continued, "Well, a book fell in my path and when I picked it up, it was about looking into another's' mind to understand them."

The telepathic boy stiffened; he had a bad feeling with where this was heading. "I think it was meant to help you and me get along better," the English male carried on, regardless of Scott's reaction, knowing he would never get another chance. "It was about controlling and twisting your powers to do as you want them to do."

"Matt, I think I know where you're going with this and the answer-"

"Scott, _please_," that caught his attention, "I know this sounds unreasonable, but I think you and I would get along better if we saw each other's pasts. I'm not asking you to confide in me and that's it, it's a mutual agreement. I think I can get inside your head too."

Scott froze. After about ten minutes, he said slowly, "How?"

"I'm not just telekinetic, I have precognition too."

"But," the Native American frowned, "I thought that was looking into the future, not the past."

"Usually, yes, but the book said I can twist my power around to look into the past if I want to, with your consent. Plus, you're telepathic; your power should be able to amplify my own and help me see. I've had flashes of the past before, Scott, more than mere memories, as if I was reliving it." Seeing Scott continue to hesitate, he added, "I really do think we should do this, but if you don't want to, I won't do it, I'll understand."

Scott crossed his arms and frowned, staring at the lawn yellow from the artificial light, cutting through the dark. Matt let him think; knowing to do otherwise would be a bad idea. Finally, Scott faced the English boy again and sighed, his eyes closed. He opened them gradually and looked Matt in the eye, then spoke, "Alright. When do you want to do it?"

Matt smiled slightly, "Now." He turned and walked to the door, opening in rapidly and pulling Richard to the floor. There was silence as the startled journalist looked up. Scott was staring at the older man with his mouth open, but Matt was looking past him, at Pedro, Jamie and the professor, all huddled around the door as they had obviously been eavesdropping on the conversation.

"Jamie?" Scott asked, his voice low.

"Um . . ." his brother floundered desperately for an excuse.

"Well, we were . . ." Professor Chambers began, searching through her mind as fast as she could for something plausible.

"We couldn't hear you in the kitchen."

"Pedro!" the other three yelled. The Peruvian boy shrugged, muttering, "They already knew . . ."

An hour later, the two teenagers had forced everyone else to promise to leave them alone for the rest of the night and were sitting on Matt's bed facing each other, cross-legged.

"So? How do we do this?" Matt extended his right arm. "We have to hold each other." Scott gripped his forearm tightly and Matt did the same. "And concentrate." Scott did that and before he knew it, he was whisked in Matt's past, his power adding to Matts and pulling him into Scott's.


	3. Chapter 3

Matt was in a dark building, surrounded by small children, all with Native American blood by the look of them. Suddenly, one marched over to two identical little boys sat together in a corner who, Matt realised with a jolt, must be Scott and Jamie. The words the child spoke didn't make any sound, but instead seemed to float through Matt's brain, loud and clear, so he knew what was being said. "I know something about you two!" the child taunted.

The twins ignored him, continuing to play with a little red ball, pushing it back and forth between them as they sat facing each other. The boy, angered by the lack of reaction said, "You two are gonna have to leave soon because you're weirdos and nobody wants you!"

One of the brothers looked up, obviously very upset. "That's not true!" he cried. The other one glanced at his twin for a moment before glaring at the offending child. "Go away."

Sensing he'd hit a nerve, the little brat grinned nastily, "What you gonna do if I don't?"

The twin who Matt was now certain was Scott, stood and leaned in to the other boy. "I'm gonna tell everyone how nobody wants you because you wet the bed and broke Mrs. Tyler's vase."

The bully squeaked and went white. He then turned red with anger. "Freak!" he cried, shoving Scott to the floor, who jumped up and pushed him right back. Unfortunately for him, he pushed the boy into a glass coffee table, causing it to shatter into lots of little pieces.

"What's going on in there?!" an angry voice yelled. All the other children froze in fear. A tall man came striding in the room, took one look at the ruined coffee table with the boy in its remains and rounded on Scott. "Did you do this?!"

"He pushed me first!" little Scott justified, clearly upset. The man shook his head, "That's it; I've had enough of you two! You've caused nothing but problems since you came here! I'm calling the social services, you can be someone else's problem!" And he stormed out again, slamming the door shut.

The bully smirked nastily at the twins, "Told you so! Bye-bye." And he sauntered away, all the other children in the room following suit, leaving them all alone. Little Jamie started crying and all little Scott could do was hug him, saying they would be alright.

XXXXX

Scott had just experienced something similar to Matt. He knew how it all worked, having done this sort of thing before, but now he was aware of Matt's presence as well. He wasn't there with him and Scott was not watching his own memories like someone else did when he and Jamie looked into their minds; he just had a sense that Matt was near him, like a shadow or an aura. Pushing that to the back of his mind, he concentrated on what he was seeing. It was not an individual memory; it was three clumped together, something Scott had witnessed in another's mind before, though not something he came across very often. It usually happened when someone associated a few events together if they were all very similar.

Young Matt had just had his first precognitial dreams and both times, his father had been furious when he had found out about it. Even though they had helped people when he told them about it, the doctor just refused to accept what had happened. "There is a rational explanation for everything!" he thundered, when he thought Matt had gone to bed. "This is ridiculous! There is no such thing a future-seeing or fortune-telling or whatever you want to call it!"

The second time, he hadn't bothered to wait until his small son was gone, simply shouting about how it had been a coincidence and there was nothing supernatural going on. Scott was beginning to hate this man, dismissing things he didn't understand, though he could feel Matt's love for Mark Freeman and he had to, grudgingly, admit that the man did care for the little boy very much, it was apparent even though he was angry. Scott also knew that Matt's little plan was backfiring so far; this was just making him resent the English boy even more, having seen him being loved when he himself and his brother had never been.

Tuning in once more as the surroundings shifted, he was in the garden outside the family's pretty house, looking down at young Matt as he absentmindedly rolled a ball around in front of him. He sensed, rather than heard, the thoughts radiating from him, about how he didn't tell his dad because he would be angry again, but he had to tell him. Though the boy had already resigned himself to the fact that it was going to happen, he harboured the hope that maybe, just maybe, Mrs Green would decide to call them and they would turn around and come home. Though, when the police car pulled up, both the little boy and Scott knew that it had really happened. Mark and Kate Freeman were dead – and Matt blamed himself for it. So maybe his plan wasn't backfiring after all, Scott reflected, as he saw the neighbour who had looked after him give him a horrified look.

_'But it wasn't his fault,'_ Scott wanted to shout, _'He told you, you wouldn't listen!'_ Though he knew that Matt would still be harbouring guilt over it, just as he did over Ed.

XXXXX

Matt was still reeling from what he had just witnessed; the first accident where Scott had controlled someone: the school bully who had attacked Jamie. It was odd, Scott had been standing in one of his classrooms', getting scolded yet again by one of his teachers, when he felt someone punch him – only it hadn't been him, it had been Jamie. His head had actually been flung back by the force, causing his teacher to stare at him in bewilderment. Without a second thought, he had sprinted out of the classroom to the yard where his brother was in the fight. And he did it.

It had been terrifying, like a force was using him to break free, just like Matt's power back in Omega one when he had escaped or when he caused the glass to explode in Gavin's hand at Forrest Hill. The words had just come out of his mouth unbidden and next thing he knew, the boy had stumbled off and nearly died in the desert. He had sworn he would never do it again. But, although Jamie had only told Matt so much about their past, he had a sinking feeling that Scott failed to keep that promise.

Matt was now in a grubby little house, that reminded him vaguely of Gwenda and Brian's place, rubbish everywhere and a strong smell of alcohol. He had just experienced the odd moment when their foster father had hit Scott in the face, resulting, somehow, in Jamie getting the bruise. Now he watched as the brothers huddled together in the back of the room; they had a habit of doing that, they were drawn together, even now, back in Peru, Matt mused with a slight smile. It disappeared when the door opposite them banged open and in staggered Ed, the smell of alcohol clinging to him like a second skin, probably coming from the bottle dangling loosely in his hand. "Right!" he yelled. "I've decided, you two are outta here!"

Jamie cringed away from the man, but Scott stood his ground and simply scowled, "Oh, what a surprise," he drawled in a bored fashion, though the anger was clear in his eyes. "Like we've never heard that one before." Even at eleven years old, he had a rather cynical view of life, not surprising, really.

The slightly drunk man gave him a look of open hostility, and then he grinned in a way that sent chills down the boys spines, Matt included. "Oh, no, no, no," he said in an irritating sing-song way, "It's different this time . . ." he took a long swig of vodka from the bottle and moved further into the room, peering down and putting his face right next to Scott's, causing the boy to lean back a little in disgust as Ed's breath washed over him. "Jamie's going to another state," he smirked evilly, "But _you're_ staying in this one: you're going to be separated."

The twins went pure white. Ed laughed. Jamie's hands started shaking; he gripped one of his brother's arms with both of them, looking like he needed the support to avoid collapsing. Scott moved closer to him, as if to refuse to be parted from his brother. He was shaking slightly as well, but his voice was steady as he said, "You're lying, they wouldn't separate us."

The man laughed louder, stopping only to drink more vodka before sneering, "Oh yes? And what makes you so confident?"

"They've never done it before." Matt could tell the confidence in his voice was for show; it was obvious he was very frightened.

"Yeah, but seeing as sending you two off as a package never worked out before, they've decided to use a different approach to offload you, two is one too much, you see," he added, as if explaining something simple to someone stupid.

"They won't," the fear was audible in the young boys voice now, "You're lying! Derry never would have-"

"That stupid old bag? She hasn't got control of you two anymore, has she?" he asked, leering. "And the other workers aren't as concerned."

"Don't insult her; she tried to look after us! She cared about us!" Scott snarled. "Yeah, Derry would make a better parent than you!" Jamie insisted, trying to support his brother. Unfortunately, all it did was turn the man's attention from one twin to the other.

"Y'know, I am soooo sick of you two," he cackled suddenly, "but since you're going your separate ways anyway, I guess there's no need to keep you together right now, is there?" He lunged forward in an attempt to seize Jamie, but before he could get a grip on him, Scott launched himself backwards, dragging Jamie with him, out of reach of the drunk and pushed him against the wall, standing in front of him as if to protect his brother, one of the leather chairs toppling over to create a sort of half-barrier between the children and the adult.

"It's not true!"

"Oh, yes it is!"

"No it's not!"

"Oh, you two are gonna be so lonely, aren't you?" he sneered at them once more, draining the alcohol in the bottle down to the dregs as he did so. "So far away from each other – you might not even be able to use your little mind trick!"

"Shut up!"

"How sad! What's the point of being freaks if it doesn't even held you two stay together? Oh poor little boys!"

"I said, SHUT UP!"

"I doubt you'll even be able to keep in contact; take a good long look, boys, because you'll never see each other again!" he burst into laughter one more time. Scott snapped. Matt watched in anticipation as Scott's facial expression became very dark and he hissed, "Nobody's going to separate us. You can go hang yourself." They all froze. Then Ed got a strange look on his face – just like the one the school bully got when Scott told him to get lost. Then he turned and walked out the door, dropping his vodka bottle to the floor with a thud.

There was silence. Then it was punctuated suddenly by Jamie, through his thoughts. _'Oh my God . . .'_ he thought, _'He's going to – you have to stop him Scott!'_

_'I can't!'_ his twin answered, breathing heavily, his eyes wide, his face ashen. _'I don't know how!'_

They stayed where they were for a few more hours, when the silence was broken by the horrified screams of their foster-mother. "ED!" she screeched. "Oh my God – ED!" The brothers did nothing. Matt felt a painful pang in his heart – not for the dead man, who quite frankly got what he deserved, but for the twins, who were going to suffer the most.

XXXXX

Scott watched the scene before him in horrified fascination, praying Matt would be okay. '_What am I praying for?'_ The rational part of him asked. '_Of course he's okay, I know him after this happens, I know he's okay!'_ The somewhat comforting thought did not prevent him from flinching, however, as the madman formerly known as Sir Michael brought the knife slicing down into Matt's chest. Scott felt Matt's emotions, felt the sudden overwhelming presence of his powers surge through him, just as Scott had once felt, not in control of it, merely a vessel to direct it somewhere. It Matt's case, he directed it to the knife, causing the blade to burn the old man and snap the leather bonds holding Matt to the metal slab. Scott's heart flared in elation as he watched Matt free Richard (whom he now had a higher degree of respect for after seeing how he helped Matt) and run out of the room with the journalist right behind him, the doors flinging themselves off of their hinges to get out of the way.

He, of course, ended up following them as they went underground. He now had to admit that Matt's plan was certainly working and, despite himself, he found he related with the English boy and actually felt quite sorry for him. As he watched Brian beat Matt around, as he saw him struggle through day-to-day life in Ipswich and get involved with that creep Kelvin and get in trouble with the law, he realised he might have had a better time of it than Matt. He had had a crappy life, but he had Jamie. Matt had no one.

Snapping back to Matt's memories, he realised they were now in the underground part of Omega One, near a river and a tank full of blue acid. With a cry of pain, Richard suddenly went down and that crazy witch, Jayne Deverill, now turned on Matt. '_Use your power!'_ Scott was desperate to say, but he knew it was useless. Matt couldn't control his power; up until recently, he hadn't even been aware he possessed something beyond precognition and he usually tried to ignore that. Scott hated the helpless feeling that overcame him and Matt as the insane woman forced him back against the railing, about to push him in. Scott felt a sense of triumph as Richard recovered his strength enough to push her over the railing to her death. '_A well deserved one, too . . .' _he thought grimly.

"Don't look, Matt," Richard said, still attempting to relieve some of the trauma from the teenager. He looked around, searching for a way to escape the horrible place, before realising they would have to use the river. "Hold on to me. Just hold on."

He looked on in something close to happiness as Richard and Matt jumped into the river, clinging to each other. _'Like brothers,'_ he observed, his first fully genuine smile in months gracing his face.

XXXXX

Matt flinched as he felt the pain sizzling through Scott's body, searing his insides, causing him to gasp and cry out in pain. If he had the energy he would've been writhing and screaming. He hardly had any sense of what was going on around him anymore, his world dissolving into a mass of pain. Matt's heart constricted in his chest as he watched the other boy's suffering, thinking back to those harsh words he'd shouted at him, back in Professor Chambers' hacienda. It seemed a world away now.

He also noted with a sense of incredulity, but not a feeling of surprise, that the most painful bit of this for Scott wasn't that he hadn't been given nearly enough food or water and lack of rest, or that they had electrocuted him or that they were pumping something into his bloodstream that made it boil and ripped him apart on the inside. It was because he was away from Jamie. He was such a devoted brother that even in this state, some part of him wondered if Jamie was okay and where he was, it wasn't a very large part of him, but it was there. It was the only thing that kept Scott clinging to some shred of sanity, through all his fear and pain. Matt admired his strength, but he was also afraid, because he realised that whatever that stuff was, it was making Scott forget everything. Where he lived, where he was now, how he got there. All he remembered was Jamie and through Jamie who he was.

Matt looked up as the door opened and in walked an unknown woman – but Matt could tell instantly that this was Susan Mortlake; the woman Jamie had told him about who had been killed by Senator Trelawney's bodyguard and tried to manipulate Scott. He also knew that she wasn't here for any good reason. She sat down on a chair beside him and gazed at him thoughtfully. Matt saw Scott was trembling as he slowly moved only his head to look at her; he was frightened to do anything because he didn't know how whoever was doing this to him would take it.

Mortlake gently touched Scott's arm, sending a flare of anger coursing through Matt, as she spoke to him, as a mother would to her son, "What have they done to you? You poor boy." Matt growled quietly at her taunting, though it did him no good. "I'd have come sooner for you if only I'd known but, you see, it's so difficult for me. I want to be your friend. But I have to know that you trust me. You have to be on my side."

Mortlake lightly brushed a lock of hair out of Scott's eyes, the intimate contact enraging Matt further. _'Don't touch him, you bitch!'_ he roared inside his head wishing he could do something, anything. Her next words made his blood run cold. "Jamie left you. Do you remember, at the theatre? That's when they came for you and your brother just abandoned you." _'You liar!'_ Matt thought, horrified. "All your life you looked after him but he didn't care. The first chance he got, he was away, leaving you to all this. Right now, he's laughing at you. Because he's all right. He's having a fine old time. And you're stretched out on your back, connected to all these nasty tubes, and you could die here and nobody would think twice."

_'This is impossible! It can't work, Scott and Jamie are always together, always looking out for each other, Scott can't possibly believe this lie!'_ But as Matt had that thought, he felt the smallest bit of doubt slither into Scott's mind. _'This is hell,'_ Matt thought as he watched the woman lie, unable to do anything. He now understood why Scott and Jamie didn't like their powers, to watch horrible things happen right in front of them and be unable to do anything . . .

Mortlake continued. "But that's the mistake you've made since you were little, Scott. Do you remember Ed and Leanne in Carson City? You thought they'd look after you but they let you down. And then there were Don and Marcie and they were even worse. But that's the thing about life, isn't it? It's always the good people who get pushed around. The little people. Do you want to be a little person, Scott, or do you want to be with me? Because, you see, in the world that's coming, I'm going to be in charge, and you're going to have to start asking yourself, which end of the whip do you want to be?"

Matt could take no more, he desperately wished that he didn't have to hear what came next – and he didn't. _'That's weird,'_ he thought, confused, but relieved all the same. _'Must be something to do with me not being a telepath . . .' _He could see Mortlake's mouth moving but only two phrases floated to him ". . . Little swine and put a knife through his heart . . ." came first, followed by "Mr Banes has come to see you now." And she left. In her place was a bald man, whom Matt recognised as the one who attacked the twins at the theatre. He didn't know what happened to his partner. When Scott saw him, fear and anticipation for more pain swelled in him. The man smirked at him nastily before looking over at the door and beckoning another man to come over. Scott glanced at him in confusion –

Nothing.

Absolutely nothing; the entire world went black and Matt looked around in confusion, he could faintly hear Jamie's voice. _'Scott!'_ echoing through to him, but Scott blocked him out. _'Scott! It's me!'_ This too, was ignored. Then he was in someone else's head – the bodyguard's, Warren Cornfield. He watched as Scott gave the order to kill Trelawney, which was overruled, just in the nick of time, by Jamie ordering him to kill Susan Mortlake. Matt felt very satisfied about that. The only clear memory that came after this was waking up in the hacienda after Pedro had performed his first healing session on him.

_'He must've repressed his memories,'_ Matt thought, _'It would make sense, he's experienced a lot of trauma . . . Dad once said it was the mind's natural reaction to this kind of thing, block it out . . . '_

XXXXX

Scott terrified as the helicopter made its descent, circling towards the ground extraordinarily fast, turning the worlds into a blur. The final shattering crash left him breathless – at least it would have if this was actually his experience. Matt eventually had the good sense to force his way out of the wreckage, pulling Pedro with him. Once he was sure of the situation, he set off, Scott with him. This memory was making Scott look at him in a whole new light. He recognised that they were kindred spirits, but up until now, it still bugged him that Matt had seemed to appoint himself the leader. Scot didn't like it when one person had all the power, it seemed unfair. While he still had that opinion and would've preferred the Five to be equals, he knew now that Matt was a good leader and he should be the one to hold that position. Not that he would ever tell him that . . .

Matt now stood facing Salamander's mobile laboratory. Once more, Scott felt that incredible power pouring from him as he ripped the metal truck to pieces, tearing out bolts and the satellite with ease. He felt a quick twinge of fear when the man himself came out and, in his mad rage, fired a bullet at Matt, but kicked himself mentally a minute later for worrying; as Matt clearly demonstrated, he could throw the moving laboratory that must've weighed about four or five tonnes across the desert as one would skip a rock across a pond. A single bullet was useless. Five, on the other hand, was a different matter. He could sense, though, that Matt did not blame himself for Salamander's death and really, why should he? The man was a fool, a thief and a murderer. Something suddenly struck him though. Matt had won. He was beginning to strike Scott as nearly invincible. So how on Earth were the Old Ones back?

His question was answered almost immediately as Matt realised the satellite was still moving. And there was nothing he could do to stop it. He felt Matt's fear as the ground shook and began to tear itself apart; it was the most overwhelming terror he had ever felt in his life and Scott felt it too. Suddenly, the Old Ones were released back into the world.

Matt tried hard to stop them, he was almost certain he could do it too, as he felt Pedro's presence nearby. He was so close to winning! The King of the Old Ones was weak after his imprisonment and Matt was using that. Just a little more . . .

Scott cursed out loud as the gigantic spider ran at Matt and, for lack of a better term, sucked the life clean out of him. As the Old Ones disappeared and Matt lay on the desert floor close to death, Scott thought, _'Hell . . . we have to fight those things?! How the hell are we gonna win?!'_

XXXXX

The two teenagers said nothing for a long time after they vacated each other's minds, simply sitting on Matt's bed, staring at the spread. Scott broke the silence. "I know none of this makes sense at all," he began, "But the skeleton dinosaur attack? That's just freaky." Matt laughed. Scott glared, though a mild one compared to what he usually unleashed. "I'm serious. The live fossils, the creepy witches, cat's coming back to life . . ." he trailed off, shaking his head. "All the really weird stuff seems to happen to you."

Matt grew sombre. "Yes, and all the cruel and painful stuff seems to happen to you." He looked Scott in the eyes, blue into brown. "I'm sorry for what I said about you and the whole Silent Creek thing. It was wrong." Scott shrugged, finding that it really didn't bother him that much. "Don't worry about it. It's not that that upsets me; it's the fact that you can't trust me." He kept his steady stare locked with Matt's. "Can you trust me?"

Matt hesitated before saying quietly, "Yes, I think I can." Scott nodded and averted his gaze. After a few more minutes spent lost in thought, he spoke once more. "You know," he said slowly, "You're actually not as much of an asshole as I originally thought."

Matt smiled at him, a little grimly, but happily too. "Thanks. You're not so bad yourself."

**A/N: If you are thinking of complaining because my version of their telepathy does not exactly coincide with Anthony Horrowitz's, don't. I apologise, but I couldn't write his way, so call it artistic license.**

**So, does this, being the longest chapter so far, make up for my neglect? I couldn't do it sooner: it took me so long to find the chapter in Nightrise with Scott and Susan Mortlake in it! Yes, all the speaking for that scene is the original text (I didn't finish all of it because by then I was exhausted and the end wasn't all that important). Damn my need to get the wording right; I was fighting the urge to throw the book out of my window, I was honestly THAT frustrated!**

**P.S. The second man wasn't actually there, for those of you who haven't read the book in a while and got confused, that's relevant for later on.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: A big thanks to MadCatta for being my Beta, I followed your suggestion.**

Matt yawned as he went down the stairs to get his breakfast, finding the two adults already at the table discussing something quietly while Jamie and Pedro played cards. Jin, from the look of it. From the delicious aroma wafting through from the kitchen, Matt assumed Scott was cooking a proper breakfast instead of toast. He wandered into the spacious room quietly – noting the cautious, slightly concerned glances the others gave him as he did so. _'They're wondering if we're gonna have another fight,'_ he thought with a half-smile tugging at his lips.

As he suspected, he found Scott standing at the stove with his back to him, from the way his arm was moving, it looked like he was stirring something. "Morning," he said cheerfully, wondering if Scott was regretting his decision to allow Matt into his mind.

He turned to look at the first of the Five, face impassive for a moment before giving him a small smile. "Hey." With an inaudible sigh of relief escaping his lips as Scott turned back to the food, he asked, "What's for breakfast?"

"Scrambled eggs. I didn't fancy giving you toast, if I burnt it something would probably fly out of the window." Matt looked at him blankly. Then he laughed, thinking incredulously, '_Did Scott just make a joke?_'

He walked over to the counter beside the stove and pulled some bread out of the bread bin, pulling the toaster a little closer to him, "In that case I better make it then, huh? Then it's my own fault." He glanced over at his companion in time to see the corner of his lips twitch slightly into a half-smile.

XXXXX

The others were cautiously optimistic, Matt and Scott were not exactly friends but the fighting had completely ceased. It wasn't something they consciously did that changed things; they still made insulting comments and suggestions towards each other, but it was as if the malice had been sucked out of it, and it became more like a contest to see who could best each other. This left the_ hacienda_ in a very comfortable atmosphere, which was shattered by the arrival of a member of the Nexus.

"So what are you suggesting?" Scott asked, all trace of good humour gone as he gazed steadily at the bishop, oldest member of the Nexus. The man turned to look at him, answering bluntly, "I suggest, young man, that the four of you leave Peru as soon as possible."

"Why do we need to do that?" Jamie said, looking a little confused. "Sounds like a bad idea to me."

"He is right," Pedro said slowly, still getting used to the English language. "We are as safe here as anywhere else. I believe it is a bad idea to move us."

The bishop twitched irritably, clearly not used to meeting such opposition. "The Nexus has determined that this country is not a safe place to be."

"What makes you think that?" Matt questioned, his first bit of input into the conversation since the man arrived.

"Two reasons, the first being that this country being where the second gate opened, it is entirely possible the Old Ones are residing here, ready to attack you as soon as possible and two, because if you were to come to England, you would be closer to the Nexus headquarters, making it easier to provide protection."

"Provide protection?" Scott scoffed, his eyes narrowing slightly, "You guys certainly do a great deal of that, don't you?" Hearing the sarcastic undertone loud and clear, the bishop's face contorted in anger and he glared at the teenager. "It is our duty to protect and guide the Five."

"_Guide us?_" Scott hissed, anger visible in his blazing brown eyes. "Since when have you guided us? All our lives, all four of us, have got by just fine without you lot to_ protect_ us," the emphasis was not lost on the older man who glared even harder at the American. "And besides, how can you people protect us against the Old Ones when we've got powers to help us and you don't? Seems to me that when the time comes, _you're_ the ones who'll need the help."

The bishop turned red as he faced Scott fully, obviously trying not to shout. "If you're so good at protecting yourself, young man, kindly explain how you ended up kidnapped and tortured?"

Scott turned white at the memory before his eyes were set ablaze with rage. Matt decided now was the time to intervene. "I agree with Scott."

Everyone jolted in surprised as they looked at the English boy. "Moving us now hardly seems like a good idea and besides, the Old Ones will attack us eventually, no matter what country we're in at the time," Matt turned to look the man in the eye steadily. "And he has a point about you supposedly taking care of us too; in the past, your interference with me only put me in greater danger. And I haven't forgotten Fabian, either."

The man turned red once more at the mention of the traitor. "That man acted of his own volition." He stated pompously. "He was not acting under the Nexus' orders –"

"No, but he still almost got Matt and Pedro killed!" Richard snapped angrily, uncomfortable with the presence of the other man. "And you guys recruited him in the first place, without checking who he really supported!"

"I'm sure I don't know what –"

"He told us," Matt cut in. "He told us that he had chosen to support the Old Ones before the whole thing with Raven's Gate, and he only joined up after I'd destroyed it – when Professor Dravid was killed."

The man looked over each and every one of them slowly, as if he might bore holes in their heads with his eyes, before forcing a reply out through clenched teeth, "I can see you are of one mind. If you decided to heed our warnings," he pulled out a black mobile phone and held it out to Richard as he talked to him. "Call us, line one puts you straight through to a member."

Richard frowned at him. "Why are you giving this to me?" he nodded at the boys. "They're the Five. Give it to Matt."

The bishop eyes went slightly hard and he voice slightly cold. "I don't think the children–"

"Children?!" Scott almost shouted, glowering at the elder male. "Don't patronize us, old man."

"We've seen far more than you'll ever know," Jamie added, angry at the way the man had treated his brother, "We're more than capable of fighting, and we don't need other people to protect us."

Matt decided he better straighten things out before the clergyman got really angry. "We appreciate the concern and we are grateful for your help," he began in a calmer voice, "But we don't need to be protected or told what to do; it's our fight."

The man seemed slightly calmer after listening to Matt's statement, but he was still annoyed. "Very well." He was stiffly and marched out the door.

XXXXX

The days past by all the same after the bishop's visit, but they all had a small niggling suspicion about his words, wondering if maybe, just maybe, it would be better if they left Peru. The answer came one day when Professor Chambers sent Matt and Scott out to buy food in the town, Matt because Pedro hated to walk along the streets and see all the poor (not that Matt liked it any better, but it was personal for the other boy) and Scott because he was the one who was cooking that night. Besides, she didn't think they were in danger of beating each other half to death, seeing as they were so amiable now.

They had just left the towns perimeters and were trekking back up the long road to the _hacienda _when a snake slithered in their path. Scott, having been raised in a desert, thought nothing of it and made to move around the python. Matt, however, saw the danger and managed to pull him out of the way just before the creature's fangs sank into his calf. The serpent did, however, managed to curl around Scott's right leg as he was pulled back and began to creep up along it, past his knee, past his thigh, where Matt finally slammed all his mental energy into the thing and managed to fling it off.

Scott got his breathing back under control and turned to the English boy, opening his mouth to thank him when he saw another snake on the sand, crawling over rapidly to latch into Matt. Scott seized his wrist and yanked him out of the way, the serpent's fangs only just missing his skin as it ripped into his jeans by his ankle, spraying venom on the white skin beneath. Matt fell against the American, and as they heard a hissing noise, they turned and saw hundreds of snakes coming up behind them.

Scott's heart pounded in his chest. Matt seized his bicep and sprinted down the road, dragging Scott with him, and they ran for their lives. The snakes came at them from different angles, trying to cut them off, slithering into the ground before popping out around them and trying to bite them. The boys formed an odd pattern; Matt would run, pulling the other teenager along beside him, who would look around until he spotted the earth shifting as a serpent climbed out to lunge at them, he would then shout a warning at Matt who would use his power to throw the murderous reptiles away. It wasn't working as well as they would've liked, but it still held the snakes off and they had no other options.

_'Scott? What's going on?!'_ His brother's voice in his head startled him momentarily so he almost didn't warn Matt before another python, this one red and black sank its teeth into him. He recovered himself just in time to wrap his arms around Matt's waist and throw them both to the left where no serpents could be found. He then responded to Jamie, _'Snakes! They're massing on us! We need help!'_

He listened in his mind while dodging the snaps at his feet and legs as Jamie went to Pedro, Richard and Professor Chambers, telling them of the situation. Then Scott was distracted as one snakes' strike managed to break his skin but luckily was not able to inject it's venom into his bloodstream, as far as he could tell, before Matt blasted it to the side. _'Thank God Matt's power is telekinesis, very handy thing to have . . . '_

Dusk was happily falling on them and they weren't anywhere near the _hacienda_, soon they would be trapped in a desert, dancing to avoid death with no way to see the creatures attacking them and no hope of getting inside to safety. Scott and Matt were exhausted and their reactions were getting slower, sweat coating their clothes and skin. Just when they thought they were dead, two bright lights illuminated the desert and they looked, half blind, to see Richard leaning out of the car's passenger window, beckoning and shouting for them to keep moving. They obliged happily.

The professor was driving and she sung the jeep around at a terrifyingly fast rate so the side was facing the two teenagers. The back door sprang open and now it was Jamie leaning out, stretching out his hand desperately as if to somehow pull them to him. The snakes were enough of an enticement though and Matt grabbed the Americans' forearm, quickly allowing himself to be hauled in as he heaved Scott in after him. Pedro pressed himself against the window on the other side to make room for all four of them as Jamie was squashed against him by Matt's weight, who was still helping Scott in by the arm.

Just as the biggest snake, a seven-foot long brown monstrosity, snapped out to bite him, he managed to slam the door shut so it hit the window instead of his neck, leaving a serious crack in the glass, though it did not break, to Scott's immense relief. Professor Chambers slammed on the accelerator, sending them through the desert at an alarming rate. Richard quickly used the black mobile the bishop had given him to find a place for them. As they felt heard and felt the serpents being crushed beneath the jeeps heavy wheels, they relaxed a bit, feeling a lot safer than they had out on the road and sat up properly in their seats, allowing Pedro and Jamie to sit up and get some more room too. As they did, their legs hit the six small backpacks that had been thrown onto the floor of the car in the back. Ever since the bishop had first come with his offer, Richard and indeed Matt had insisted that they keep the absolute essentials they needed in small bags, always within reach, so that if they needed to leave in an emergency they were ready. They were all glad they did now.

The journalist then turned around in his seat to look at the boys, saying, "Alright, he's got a safe house for us in the capital. We'll stay there a few days while we figure out what to do."

"Going to England now sounds like a good idea." Pedro muttered, causing weak smiles to break out on the other three teenagers' faces. Richard, too, gave him a brief half-smile before turning around again. Only to do a double take and look back at Matt and Scott who were both busy looking at the marks on Scott's leg to see if any venom had got into the wound.

During the chase, Matt's hand had slipped from Scott's bicep to his hand, lacing their fingers together as they ran. And even now in the car they still hadn't let go.

**A/N: It makes me very happy to note that my chapters appear to be getting longer, though this one isn't as long as the last one.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Okay, this chapter is quite similar to the one in Necropolis, but you can see the difference. I just couldn't think of another way to move my plot along.**

Matt was gloomy. All the work that went into reassuring Scott that he was on his side and that he trusted him had just gone down the drain.

An hour ago, the four boys, Richard and the Professor had all been in her room of the hotel the Nexus had booked for them, while they discussed what to do next. It was unanimous that they should go to England after a new clue had turned up, suggesting that the fifth of the five might in fact be in that country. Then Matt had opened his big mouth.

"I think we should split up." They gaped at him and all burst into protest a moment later. Once they were silenced, he then explained, "I don't think it's a good idea for us to travel together in case the Old Ones somehow manage to grab a hold of us. If two of us go with Richard on tomorrow's flight and the other two come with Professor Chambers," he nodded in her direction, noting the calculating look on her face. "Later, then we'd be a bit safer. We can manage being apart for a week or two and I'm not saying we should go solo. It's just a precaution."

He waited as they all slowly agreed on his idea, though the Professor and Scott were a bit apprehensive about the plan. Matt then added, "I think Scott and Pedro should go with the Professor and Jamie and I should go with Richard." Once again, they all looked at him shock, clearly not expecting this course of action.

Scott was the first to recover. "No way in Hell! Take Pedro." Jamie was right behind him. "Scott and I only just found each other again we don't want to be separated!"

Pedro, too, was opposed to the plan. "I agree with them, Matt, they are close, they should be together." Jamie smiled at him momentarily. Scott kept his eyes focused on the first of the Five, the anger exuding from him like a poisonous gas. "What's your reason for splitting us up?" he demanded.

Matt fought to keep his face straight. "I just think Jamie should come with us for two reasons, one it would be a surprise to them if you two," he indicated the twins sitting opposite him, "were apart, they wouldn't expect it." Scott eyes narrowed, showing disbelief and suspicion in their dark depths. Matt continued "And two, I was hoping Pedro could spend a little more time than you."

Silence engulfed them as they all understood Matt's exact reason. Scott was breathing hard and shaking slightly as he fought to control himself. "You bastard," he finally spat, "After all that I went through to get you to trust me, you still think I'm gonna betray you?"

Matt shook his head futilely, "That's not what I meant."

"Like Hell it's not!" Scott stormed out of the room, shooting one more venomous look in Matt's direction before slamming the door shut, leaving them all in a heavy silence in his wake.

Now Matt was sitting on his bed, Pedro watching the TV as he sat on its twin, stewing over that morning, wondering how on Earth he was going to fix it. The flight left early in the morning so they were going to have to come to a decision soon and Scott wasn't budging, both because he hated the thought of being apart from his brother and because he was angry over Matt's refusal to trust him. How was Matt going to fix this one? Try as he may to convince himself otherwise, some part of him said he had no proof Scott would be loyal should trouble arise. All at once, the solution came to him. He heaved himself off the bed and, in answer to the Peruvian's questioning look, said, "I'm going to talk to Scott and Jamie."

Pedro gave him a dubious look, but didn't speak. Matt opened their door and stepped out onto the red carpet of the hallway, his footsteps muffled as he walked passed Richard's room, passed Professor Chambers' room and to the brothers' shared room. Taking a quick breath, he rapped on the door twice with his knuckles. A few moments later, Jamie opened the door, his face showing is surprise, a hint of anger flashing in his eyes. He glanced over his left shoulder briefly (all the proof Matt needed that Scott was in there) and muttered quietly so his brother couldn't hear, "What do you want Matt?"

Knowing Jamie would probably slam the door in his face, Matt raised his voice so Scott would definitely hear his reply, "I want to talk to Scott. You too, if you want to hear it." Jamie scowled and, as Matt suspected, seized the door as if to shut it when he suddenly paused. He waited several seconds then, looking annoyed and concerned, he moved back and gestured for Matt to come inside. Matt did so; assuming Scott had ordered Jamie to let him in telepathically. As he rounded the block of wall jutting out (which he suspected contained the bathroom), he saw the room was much the same as he and Pedro shared, red carpet, red curtains, TV, mini-fridge, chest of drawers to put clothes in and twin beds, upon one of which Scott was perched, looking at him expectantly. Jamie sidled past Matt to sit on the bed beside his brother, prompting Matt to sit on the bed Jamie would occupy.

The twins looked at him expectantly. He sighed inaudibly and began, deciding there was no point in dragging it out, "Do you honestly think I'm doing this because I don't trust you?" He directed this question at Scott, who snorted disdainfully. "Yes I do." He cut Matt off as the boy opened his mouth to carry on. "And don't try to convince us to spilt up because the answer's no."

Matt waited until Scott was done before continuing. "I was going to say that I'd prove to you I trust you." He looked Scott straight in the eye. "Change of plan; how about Jamie goes with Pedro and the Professor, while you go with Richard and me?"

Whatever the American's had been expecting, it wasn't that. Jamie gaped while Scott frowned. "I just told you, Jamie and I go together. Seeing as you don't trust me–"

"That's what I'm saying, Scott," Matt interrupted. "You're right, on some subconscious level I don't really trust you, but this can change that."

Scott scoffed. "Yeah, that's what you said about letting me into your past, didn't work out to well, did it?"

Matt flinched. "That did work; I have begun to trust you. If we spend some time together without Pedro and Jamie, I feel I will trust you completely by the end of it. Why would I offer unless I was serious?"  
Jamie looked between his twin and the blue-eyed boy as they continued their staring match, until Scott caught his eye and they looked at each other for several long minutes. Matt's fists clenched on his thighs, knowing that they were debating it between themselves. Finally, they turned back to him and Scott said, "Fine. I'll come to England tomorrow with you and Richard. But if this doesn't work," he lowered his voice as he said the last bit, the anger clear in his eyes, "I'm not doing anymore of your little plans to forge trust or whatever it is you're going on about, okay? I've done more than enough."

Matt nodded and stood, striding to the door. "Thanks. We're meeting up in Richard's room at seven-thirty. Good night." The brothers didn't answer him, nor did he expect them too.

XXXXX

So now Scott and Matt were sitting on a plane bound for London with Richard over on the other side of the aisle. Matt was against the window, Scott by the aisle, facing away from each other and not speaking, both ignoring Richards anxious glances in their direction. _'As if they we're really going to have a fist-fight on a plane,'_ Matt thought, slightly irritated by the journalists mother-henning.

As the pilot announced the start of the take-off, Matt felt sick immediately, causing Scott to give a curious look. As they began their ascend, Matt's teeth clenched and he started to shake, missing his companions startled gaze on him, especially when Matt jumped and seized something warm and firm on the armrest as a loud noise sounded through their section, for some reason making the memory of the snake attack that pressured them to leave Peru flash through his mind. '_Not what I need right now,' _he observed.

Scott murmured to him. "Relax, one of the stewardesses knocked over a tray with a kettle." Matt nodded and soon they were flying straight once more. "Can I have my hand back now?"

Matt looked down in surprise and realised why he had a flash of the snake attack; he was indeed holding onto Scott's hand for dear life, both their knuckles going white with the effort. He hastily released the appendage with a heavy blush and a muttered, "Sorry."

Scott graced him with a tiny half-smile. Matt marvelled at the odd jolt his heart performed in his chest in response.

**A/N: Thanks for the help, MadCatta! As you can tell I added something after you beta'd it for me, I just thought of it after I'd already sent it off to you.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: As always, my deepest gratitude to MadCatta for being my beta! BTW, about that confusion over the word . . . you suggested the same thing I did, but Word wouldn't have it, for some reason . . .**

All in all, it had gone rather well, Matt mused as the hot water of the power shower cascaded down his back. It made him smile to think of Scott's reaction when he saw all the old London monuments of the type he'd never experienced in the Nevada desert where he'd grown up. Not a very noticeable reaction by ordinary standards, but then, Scott was a very reserved person; instead of gawking at everything insight, his eyes had simply widened about a centimetre more than they should have been. Richard didn't notice it, but Matt did.

Matt was just strolling out of the bathroom, rubbing his hair with a towel, another wrapped around his waist, when he noted Scott, who had had the first shower, sitting on his bed in the room they shared and frowning at the TV, the remote on the bed beside his thigh, his still-damp hair clinging to his neck. Matt stood beside him and said, "What's wrong?"

Scott looked up at him, Matt's muscled chest at his eye level and looked away quickly, gesturing at the TV. Matt cocked his head to the side slightly. Was it him, or did Scott's eyes get slightly wider when he saw him?

"It's these British shows; I don't really get the humour in them." Scott elaborated. Matt leaned over slightly to look at the TV, recognising the show Scott was attempting to enjoy as Outnumbered.

"Oh, yeah, that one's not a very good one." Matt explained with a shrug. "If you want to enjoy British humour, you should try some of the older BBC sitcoms, like One Foot in the Grave."

Scott glanced at him through the black hair hanging over the side of his face, "That sounds cheerful."

Matt ignored that comment and reached for the remote, checking the listing for the programmes on UKTV Gold. Pursing his lips thoughtfully, he said, "Hmm, they don't seem to have any good ones on today," he kept filing through, "but Midsomer Murders is on tonight, you might like that."

"Is there any Keeping Up Appearances?" a voice asked. Turning their heads, the two teenagers spied Richard walking through the door that connected their two rooms, looking rather sleepy.

Matt shook his head. "Sorry, not today."

Richard 'humphed' his annoyance before reverting his gaze to Scott. "You should watch that when it comes on, it's funny. Plus, it's got pretty general humour non-English people can get too, so it's good to start you off."

Scott was looking rather dubious. "And you think I'll find it funny?"

Richard immediately assured him that he did. Matt nodded along with the journalist's statement. "Yeah, you and Jamie remind me of Elizabeth and Emmett."

Scott glanced at him sidelong once again. "Oh yeah? Who's who?"

Before it could escalate into an argument, Richard cut in and said, "All right boys, I only came in to tell you that I'm going to take a nap, so do whatever you want. Just don't kill each other, okay?" He winced inwardly, but he couldn't stop himself from saying it.

"We'll try to restrain ourselves." Scott remarked dryly.

The elder man exited through the door connecting the two rooms. The teenagers sat in silence for a few minutes before Matt looked at Scott and said, "You want to go walk around London?"

Scott shrugged and muttered, "Why not?"

XXXXX

Matt and Scott were wandering around London on no particular route or direction, taking in the sights while the English boy attempted to explain things to the American. Attempted being the operative phrase as Scott's mind seemed to centre around questions such as, "Why did they call a giant clock 'Ben'? Couldn't they come up with something more original?" and "Why exactly do the cops carry sticks? Don't they have guns? Those strike me as slightly more efficient."

They'd had McDonalds for lunch, Matt hoping that Scott wouldn't ask strange questions as the franchise was American. He was in luck, as Scott ate his burger pretty much silently, only commenting on the slightly contradicting flavours of English and American mayonnaise.

Once more they were walking around the town, Matt waiting for the onslaught of questions as they neared the London Eye. Not that he was complaining, Scott being so talkative was a pleasant surprise as he seemed genuinely interested in what he was seeing and not angry about something, or impassive, which had so far been his usual countenance. They sat down on the stone bench for a moment to feed the pigeons and listened to the sounds of the typical London public, people shouting as they tried to jostle their way around each other, musicians playing folk songs in the streets and, in another street somewhere, a man trying to raffle off a motorbike. The somewhat peaceful atmosphere was broken when Scott said lowly, face calm, "Matt, I think we're being followed."

Matt, realising why Scott decided to put on an impassive front as he spoke, masked his rising panic and muttered quietly, "Who?"

"Those two guys in the blue jackets over by the bus stop." Scott whispered, his eyes flashing over the spot he spoke of momentarily to help Matt located them. "I'm sure they were hanging around in the car park we cut across and outside McDonalds."

Matt thought back, mentally kicking himself for not noticing himself, as he surveyed the heavy-set, aloof-looking men in navy blue jackets and black business trousers, one leaning on the bus stop sign, the other sitting down on the metal bench. Matt stretched out a hand and the closest pigeon rested on it, trying to look anywhere but at the two strangers, mumbling softly, "I think you're right. We need to go."

"We can't go back to the hotel; they'll follow us and know exactly where we're staying." Scott murmured as he turned his body to face Matt fully, managing to cover both of their faces from the men's view. "We'll have to lose them somehow."

Matt frowned very faintly, thinking hard. He leaned forward slightly to make sure that only Scott could hear his almost inaudible words, "You saw that back alley behind the book shop?"

Scott nodded almost imperceptibly, so he continued, "I've used that before when I was here in London once; if we take the main route with the crowd, then slip in the side doorway connected to it in between Boots and W.H. Smith, we should be able to lose them, I know the way from there. Okay?"

"Okay. Let's go now." So the two of them pushed off from their stone perch and set off at a measured gait, as much as to stick together as to not arouse their follower's suspicions. They merged with the crowd as they walked along the main road; the doorway loomed ahead. Scott was scared. He'd already been kidnapped once before and he didn't want to repeat the experience. Matt noticed his companion's emotions, but could do nothing to comfort him without the stalkers noticing, so left him to get on with it. Besides, as he too was afraid, he wasn't sure what he could really do.

He turned into the empty alleyway as slowly as he could bear; suddenly dragging Scott in after him and the two boys sprinted down the cobble-stoned path as fast as they could, desperate to get away. Their pursuers could not run after them immediately as it would draw attention to themselves; the teenagers had a few precious seconds as a head start. They managed to get out of the deserted lane, into another and then a third one. Scott glanced at Matt who was a few paces ahead of him.

Matt saw that. "It's okay, just up ahead, we'll be out in the street, we can get a bus to about three streets away from the Hotel, we can run the rest, just to make sure they don't follow us."

Scott nodded, taking a small amount of comfort in the plan. That is until the two men suddenly charged up behind them, chasing them. One of them shouted for the boys to stop; they ignored him and put as much energy as they possibly could into moving forwards those extra few steps that would launch them into the heart of the public and shelter them. A loud crack shattered the atmosphere as a dart imbedded itself into the wall by Matt's head.

Looking over his shoulder, Matt saw the tranquiliser gun the shorter of the two men carried as they ran after the boys. Matt swore as another dart was fired that missed Scott's back by mere inches. He threw himself into the open street, dragging Scott with him by the wrist, sending a quick prayer skyward as they pushed their way through the indignant crowd. A third crack was heard clearly over the hustle and bustle of the people in the street and every single person turned to see the middle-aged woman fall to the ground with a dart in her chest; as well as the two men who were responsible. Cover blown, the assailant simply raised his gun and aimed at Scott, who, along with Matt, hadn't stopped to see what had happened.

This, however, worked in the boys favour as it sent the crowd into a panic, causing them to run every which way in an attempt to avoid getting shot. It also separated them. Matt was forced to release Scott's wrist as a hysterical man tried to run passed them and collided with Matt's arm, wrenching them apart. When he turned to grip Scott once more, he found the American gone. Matt ran aimlessly through the crowd, using it as a cover so the henchmen wouldn't spot him and frantically searching for the other male.

It was no use, however, as yet another dart soon shot just over his shoulder, the wider back of it grazing the skin of his neck. He turned, stunned and saw the crowd had all but disappeared, the last remaining people cramming into the other streets as they screamed and struggled to flee. The screams seemed to die before they could penetrate the sudden silence that engulfed the three males standing alone. The man was now aiming directly for his chest as his partner moved to cover Matt's side in case the shorter of the two should miss, but Matt had a sinking feeling of certainty that he wouldn't. A rumbling roar cut through the silence and the black and red motorbike that had been about to be raffled off on the side of the street drove at full-throttle straight towards them. Matt stared in shock, as did his two attackers, as he recognised Scott as the rider. Snapping back to his senses, and mentally berating himself for not thinking of it before, Matt waved his hand and sent both still frozen men flying through the air.

The motorbike skidded next to him, slowing slightly as Matt jumped onto the side of it, clinging precariously to the side as Scott slammed on the accelerator and raced forwards. Matt managed to swing himself onto the seat behind Scott before glancing back over his shoulder at the now bruised men who were leaping to their feet. Matt swiped with his hand again and the half-raised gun in the shorter man's tight grip was wrenched out of his hands, smashing into a nearby wall.

Matt then turned his attention to his more immediate problem, now that the threat of being shot in the back was gone. "Have you ever driven one of these things before?" he yelled over the roar of the engine.

"No!" Scott shouted back as he gunned the accelerator. "But I think I'll get the hang of it!"

Matt winced as they drove up a steep hill and momentarily left the ground, slamming back into the road with a force that made his bones ache. It also lifted him out of his seat for a second and made him very aware of his less than secure position on the vehicle. He wrapped one arm around Scott's waist, the other diagonally across his chest, clinging onto him desperately.

The engine let out a louder than before growl as Scott turned a sharp corner. Matt realised why as ten seconds later two four-by-four BMW's followed them down the road. Scott swore and doubled their speed. The cars were still closing in. Matt thought quickly as he surveyed the immediate area. Recognising where they were, he came up with a plan.

"Scott! Turn down that road," he swung his arm out to the right, gesturing at the one he meant. "When I say "now", okay?"

"Why?"

"Trust me!"

Matt turned to look at the vehicles hot on their trail. He tensed up, waiting for the right moment. He flinched in fear when he saw one of the people in the passenger seats reach down and pull up another gun, leaning out the window to aim at them. He glanced at the road, trying to time his plan exactly.

"Matt . . . !" Scott had looked over his shoulder and seen the gun pointing at them.

Matt held his breath and counted to three mutely. Then he yelled, "Now!"

Scott made a very hard right, the bike leaning so close to the ground Matt was certain he could feel the gravel scratch at his leg. Taken by surprise, the drivers in the pursuit cars hesitated for two seconds before following the boys, as Matt knew they would. One of the cars crashed straight through the barrier and into the River Thames, people and all. The other car was luckier; it swerved around the barrier, leaning dangerously close to the water, but began to topple back down onto four wheels. Until Matt removed his arm from around Scott's chest and gestured. It shot into the air, over the barrier and for a moment Matt was afraid he'd unintentionally sent it over to the other side, until it fell out of its arc and into the murky water.

The two boys sat frozen on the still-running motorbike, gazing into the river where the cars chasing them had remain buoyant for about five seconds before going under and not coming back up. After a few long minutes, Matt snapped out of his reverie and threw his arms around Scott's shoulders, pinning his arms to his sides and squeezing him tight. This jolted Scott out of his trance, staring at the English boy in shock.

"Hey–! What the hell are –?" his voice abruptly cut off as Matt's lips accidentally brushed his cheek, eyes widening.

Matt failed to notice his reaction as he said, "That was brilliant, Scott!"

Scott was silent for a moment, before he turned away and started fiddling with the bike, trying to get it started to get them back to the hotel and glad Matt couldn't see his blush. "Your plan was pretty good too," Scott mumbled back, very quietly, though Matt could still hear him. "We'd have been screwed if you hadn't thought of that."

Matt smiled and repositioned his arms back around Scott as he started the bike up again and they set off. "Thanks," he whispered, squeezing Scott gently.

XXXXX

Richard had been horror-struck by their attack and had been very assertive when he demanded that they move hotels, just in case the assailants really did know where they were. So now Matt was staring up at a different coloured ceiling as he tried to sleep, even though he couldn't tell difference with the lights out. He rolled over onto his side in an attempt to get more comfortable when he heard a low groan. He remained very still and silent. He heard it again, this time accompanied by a shifting of fabric. He rolled over very slowly and looked over at Scott in the other bed.

Scott was breathing faster than he should have and was groaning quietly every now and again, twitching as if he was being given electric shocks. The comparison immediately reminded Matt of that day, what seemed like ages ago in Peru when he'd seen the fullest extent of Scott's suffering.

'_Oh damn it!_' Matt cursed. '_He's having a nightmare, what happened today must have triggered it off . . ._'

Matt lay in his bed, staring at the other boy as he slept on, debating what he should do. As Scott whimpered, he decided on waking him up, crossing the distance between their beds in a few steps and gently shaking Scott's shoulder. The other boys gasped and his eyes flew open, staring at Matt with haunted eyes, panting hard.

"You were having a nightmare . . ." Matt murmured for no apparent reason. Scott turned his head away and nodded. "Do you . . . do you have them often?"

Scott licked his lips nervously, uncomfortable with talking about this subject. "Every now and again."

Matt nodded even though he knew Scott couldn't see it. "Um . . . you should probably try to go back to sleep."

"I won't be able to now." Scott muttered, irritated and ashamed. "I'm never able to after I have them."

Matt stared at the duvet thoughtfully, before looking at Scott again, taking in his facial features. He noticed a tiny tear gathering in his eye and reached a hand over, gently brushing it away with his finger. Scott stopped breathing for a second in response.

"What does Jamie do?" Matt finally asked, out of ideas on how to help. "Like when you were younger–?"

"I never had nightmares when I was younger," Scott almost growled, still refusing to look at Matt. "It was Jamie who got them, not me."

"And now? You seem to be getting them in bundles." Scott flinched and Matt swore inwardly, knowing what he said was harsh and it had sounded harsh too. He leaned a little closer, saying softly, "I'm sorry. I want to help you, Scott. I don't know what to do; tell me what to do."

Scott exhaled heavily before mumbling, "Jamie gets in with me."

Matt frowned. "What?"

Scott's slightly paled cheeks flushed red a little and he elaborated, "He gets in the bed with me . . . he holds me," Scott cleared his throat, his blush subsiding a little as he finished, "Sometimes I can sleep a little when he does."

Matt was silent. Scott sighed inaudibly when he felt Matt's weight leaving the mattress, rolling over so his back was to the other boy and closing his eyes tightly against the moisture building up in his eyes. They opened wide a few seconds later as the sheets lifted off of him and a warm, firm body slid in beside his. Matt curled an arm around his torso loosely and pulled himself closer, resting his cheek against the small of Scott's back.

Scott slowly lifted his hand up and gripped Matt's arm, murmuring lowly, "Thank you."

Matt didn't answer except to tighten his arm around Scott.

**A/N: MadCatta, sorry for stealing your Scott's Nightmare thing, but that was brotherly love between Scott and Jamie and this is Mott . . . so, sorry, I didn't even think of it until I was writing . . . it sort of just came out, you know?**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Dedicated to ThatGirl100 as she's been a bit unwell recently. Hope this cheers you up! Please excuse any terms you find offensive in this chapter.**

The next few days were the most peaceful Scott and Matt had ever experienced together. Richard was pleased (though he spent the first two days debating with himself whether or not to contact a doctor over the odd change of behaviour) at the newfound friendship between the boys, as indeed were they. After all, it was tiring to constantly beat somebody up and Scott was running out of witty comebacks – as if he'd ever get into an argument without a few to hand.

The boys took walks around London (wearily looking over their shoulders from time to time, of course), hung about around shops, ate junk food for lunch at random restaurants and went to see really lousy movies. Basically, they acted like two friends spending time together during leisure hours. And it felt good – it felt normal. Such a thing was at odds with whom they were and what they would soon have to face up to, but they ignored it and tried to enjoy themselves as best they could, though deep down Matt the peace for them wouldn't last. He was right; but not in the way he thought.

It was a bright, clear if somewhat chilly morning when they set off towards the cinema. Matt had his doubts, "I don't think we're welcome there anymore, Scott."

Scott glanced over his shoulder at his blue-eyed friend with an eyebrow raised inquisitively, "What makes you say that?"

"The manager looked pretty angry last time."

Scott snorted his disdain. "Like I care. She should be able to control her employees better."

"And why exactly did you dump Coke down the back of the guys' shirt?"

"He was bugging me."

"He told you not to throw popcorn at other paying customers!"

"I was a paying customer and they wouldn't shut up while I was trying to watch the movie."

Matt sighed inaudibly and decided to remain quiet. Scott was the most stubborn person he had ever met; it was useless to try and convince him of something once his mind was made up.

As they arrived at the cinema, the mobile phone the Nexus had given Matt months ago vibrated in his pocket. Pulling it out and glancing at the screen, he saw that it was Richard. He knew the reception outside the building was terrible, so he said, "Hang on a minute, I'll be back," to Scott and wondered over to a spot several metres away, answering the mobile as he did.

"Hello, Richard."

"Hey, Matt. Is Scott with you?"

"Yes, where else would he be?"

"All right, I was just asking. When are the two of you planning on coming back?"

"I don't know. Depends on whether the management have put a restraining order on us or not."

"And the last thing you need is another conviction."

"Hey!"

"Sorry, just saying . . . well, don't stay out too long, okay? Otherwise I'll start worrying."

"You always worry."

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

"In your case, it is."

Matt heard Richard huff in annoyance on the other end of the line and smiled slightly before continuing in a more conciliatory tone, "I promise we'll be back soon. Though we are out in broad daylight."

"You were out in broad daylight last time, too."

"Point taken. See you soon."

"Okay, enjoy yourselves. And try not to get into any more trouble!"

Matt laughed, not bothering to point out that they were always in trouble of some kind before he hung up. He turned and made his way over to where Scott was last standing, tucking the phone into his pocket as he went. He looked up and froze where he stood. Anger bubbled inside of him and his brilliant blue eyes narrowed dangerously as he took in the scene before him.

Scott was leaning against the doorway of the cinema, arms crossed over his chest, exactly where he had been when Matt had walked away. Except his face had shown disinterest when Matt had last seen it, now it showed irritation as he looked as the girl who was practically clinging to him. She had clearly come from the group standing over on the other street as, like them, she was dressed in exceptionally skimpy clothing with enough make-up for several circus clowns and had dark roots obviously visible beneath her white-blond hair.

Though right now, Matt didn't care about her fashion sense. All he cared about was the fact that she was rubbing up against Scott like a cat, giving him what she clearly thought was a seductive smile while he tried to ignore her. Rage seared like hot oil under Matt's skin, rousing him from his frozen state enough to make his march over towards the pair.

"I just thought you might want some company, you looked lonely, standing here all by yourself." The girl attempted to purr at Scott.

"Thanks, but I'm fine."

"Really? I think you should come hang out with me."

"Sorry, I've got plans. Otherwise I'd be thrilled to spend time with you." Apparently the stranger had no concept of sarcasm as she giggled and blushed at the American's statement. _'Tell me this isn't happening. God, where's Matt?'_

"You're not from around here, are you, sweetie?"

Putting on a look of mock wonder, Scott asked, "How'd you guess?"

"Your accent. It's cute." Slipping even closer to Scott's rigid body, if that were at all possible, she whispered in his ear, "But really, come with me, I'm sure your plans can wait a couple hours." She moved in a certain way that made her cleavage all to visible, if Scott had bothered looking.

Unfortunately, Matt wasn't paying attention to Scott's reactions, otherwise he might have been a bit calmer. "Who are you?" he demanded angrily as he reached them.

Scott turned his attention from the girl to Matt at the sound of his deep voice, frowning slightly as he noticed the livid expression. The girl herself looked annoyed at the interruption until she registered Matt's handsome face and athletic build. She smiled simperingly, "Hey there. I'm Holly, what's your name?"

"You don't need to know. Any particular reason why you've latched onto Scott like a leech?" Matt hissed furiously.

Scott's eyes widened in surprise at the venom coating Matt's words as Holly gaped like a fish out of water. When she recovered, she sneered, "You're rude. Haven't had any recently?"

"None of your business," Matt snapped, before looking down his nose at her revealing attire in distaste, "But from the look of you, you must get a lot and from a lot of different people."

Matt felt oddly satisfied at the perplexed look that covered the girls face for several seconds before being replaced by an affronted one. "You calling me a slut?"

"Wow, you mean you actually understood what I was trying to say to you? What a shock." And with that last cutting remark, Matt reached over, grabbed Scott's arm roughly and started dragging him back in the direction of the hotel, ignoring his protests as they left the stunned girl standing in the same position, gawping after them.

Matt pulled Scott behind him for four streets before Scott managed to get his arm free of the vice-like grip. Scott grasped the back of Matt's hoodie and jerked him into an alley, forcefully shoving him next to the filthy wall and all but shouting, "What the _hell_ was that?"

Keeping his face blank, Matt retorted, "What was what?"

Scott waved an arm vaguely in the direction they just came from. "_That_. Back there. What was that all about? Why were you acting like that?"

"_You're_ in no position to lecture me on proper behaviour, Scott."

"I'm not! I just want to know what caused the sudden dip into the pool of insanity!"

"Maybe I've been around you too long." Matt winced inwardly as he said it; he didn't mean it and he certainly didn't want to cause a rift between them, not after they'd become such good friends.

"What's gotten into you?" Luckily, Scott didn't look mad, just confused. "Why are you so angry?"

Matt bit his lip, his own rage cooling more and more with each passing second. ". . . I don't know, Scott."

It was true. He didn't understand where that sudden, boiling anger had come from. It wasn't often he experience such a powerful emotion. Though that kind of thing did seem to occur when Scott was around, but not like this. And yes, those kind of girls had always annoyed Matt, but he'd never reacted like that before. He really did not understand.

And apparently, neither did Scott, who just stared at him for a few minutes longer, half confused and half angry, before letting go of the front of Matt's hoodie, which he had fisted in order to slam him against the wall. With one last glance at the English boy, he turned his back and stalked away. Matt hesitated, then followed a few feet behind. Neither of them spoke a single word to each other on the walk back to the hotel.

XXXXX

Matt and Scott were once again in their hotel room, mulling over the mornings events and wondering what had made them occur. Matt had no idea what had made him act like that, it was like some innate impulse he couldn't shake; the thing that really got to him was the fact that he felt no regret at doing it or guilt. Something within him shouted that he was right in doing it and he knew that if it happened again he would act exactly the same way. But he refused to admit why. Scott pretty much thought Matt had lost his mind when it was happening, he was completely shocked. But now that that had worn off, he began to think why Matt would do it, but as of yet he was unable to think of a suitable, or even plausible, reason.

Matt looked at his watch. It was eight-thirty pm. "You want to order some dinner?"

It was the first thing either of them had said since earlier that day. Scott nodded. When he realised Matt hadn't seen it as he refused to look at him, he added, "Sure. The scampi sounds good."

Matt rolled off of his bed and picked up the white phone on a small table nearby, picking up the brochure to look for the number of room service. "That a chef's professional opinion?"

Scott cocked his head to the side slightly. "Yeah, why?"

"Then I'll get something different, knowing your taste . . ."

Enraged, Scott seized his bulging, feather-stuffed pillow, leapt to his feet and whacked Matt in the face with it when he turned around upon noticing Scott beside him. Scott's anger melted away as he burst out laughing; Matt's face was too funny not to laugh at. Said boy decided to retaliate by jumping over and grabbing his own pillow. Scott managed to hit him again in the back of the head, startling Matt into falling onto his bed. He slapped his pillow into Scott's face and dragged him onto the bed with him before he recovered.

An all-out pillow fight consumed the boys, the tension draining from them, both laughing loudly as they gave and received blows until Scott's finally broke, raining feathers down on the room. Matt took advantage of this by hitting Scott in the face lightly with his still-intact soft weapon, then pushing him down so Matt was pressing him into the mattress.

He smirked, "I win!"

Scott stopped laughing and breathed heavily, his chest rising and falling steadily, a smile on his face as he gazed up at the victor. "Yeah, you did. I'll get you next time!"

Matt laughed again, but stopped when he finally comprehended their position; he had grabbed Scott's wrists without thinking about it and pinned them into place on either side of his head, his legs were in between Scott's thighs, forcing them apart; Scott was oblivious to this observation, lifting his knees up so they were bent on either side of Matt's hips, lying quite contentedly on his back with feathers stuck in his hair at odd angles, several black strands falling over his half-closed brown eyes.

Matt leant forward slowly, barely realising what he was doing, until the two boys faces were right next to each others, their noses almost touching. Scott snapped back to reality, suddenly very aware of his position beneath the English boy, his eyes widening.

"Matt . . . what are you doing?"

Matt didn't answer, he simply ducked his head those extra centimetres forward and pressed his mouth to Scott's, marvelling at the feeling of pleasure that enveloped him as he did so. Tilting his head to the side slightly, he swiped his tongue along Scott's lips insistently. Hesitantly, Scott opened his mouth and allowed Matt to caress his tongue with his own. Soon, Scott started kissing back vigorously and Matt let him probe his own mouth, the feeling of the muscle tasting him sending shivers down his spine. He moaned lowly as Scott started sucking on his tongue and bottom lip. His cheeks would've gone red from embarrassment – if it weren't for the fact that all his blood rushed to a certain part of his anatomy. Scott froze up as he felt Matt's hard member brushing his inner thigh, before moving his body so their pelvises rubbed against each other; this was when Matt realised Scott had gone hard too.

Matt heaved himself forward and bit back a groan of pleasure at the friction caused by their hard organs brushing against each other. Scott closed his eyes and breathed out sharply as he did it again, his fingers clenching into Matt's shoulders tightly. Matt kept pushing against Scott in a steady rhythm, moving his mouth down to kiss Scott's throat. One of Scott's hands left his shoulder and twisted itself in Matt's short hair as Matt continued to kiss him. Matt's fingers crept over his chest to the buttons holding his shirt closed and quickly began to pop them off, opening the material up to reveal his defined chest. Matt sat up to admire the newly exposed expanse of dark skin, running his hand down the muscles as his other hand stroked through his now-messy, thick hair.

Scott's hands slid down Matt's own covered chest to his shirts hemline, quickly pulling it up and over Matt's head. After depositing the shirt on the floor beside the bed, Scott sat up and pressed his mouth to Matt's white skin, tasting it with his tongue and lips as he rested both hands on Matt's back. Coaxing Matt to roll over so he lay beneath the American boy, Scott slid his hands down Matt's slightly muscled arms as he moved his mouth down Matt's torso.

"Scott," Matt whispered breathlessly once he reached the hemline of Matt's jeans. As he looked up, the English boy pulled him back upwards to hover over him, pushing his head down and kissing him once more.

A sharp rapping on the hotel door brought them to their senses. Scott scrambled off of Matt and began to button up his shirt hurriedly as Matt grabbed his shirt and yanked it back over his head. Matt straightened out the duvet and wiped the feathers from the destroyed pillow off of the blankets onto the floor as Scott, his shirt now closed, unlocked the door and admitted Richard.

The elder man looked confused, asking, "Why did you lock the door?"

Scott shrugged. "Privacy."

Richard nodded, seeming to accept the excuse before addressing them both, "Professor Chambers just called; she, Pedro and Jamie have arrived; we're driving down tomorrow to meet them."

The boys nodded mutely, both only really thinking of what they'd just done. Matt now had the answer as to his own strange behaviour. Richard, however, was oblivious to the atmosphere, instead saying in surprise, "Scott, you've got a feather in your hair."

**A/N: A big thank you to MadCatta for proof-reading the second half of this chapter (I wrote it a while before the first section, don't ask why). **

**Before any complaints are made, I want to point out that the grammatical mistake in the girls speech was intentionally placed there to show her lack of intelligence, okay? And I chose the name Holly because it's a common name and I know two, one of whom really got on my nerves today and the other of whom I am just plain sick of, so it was the first name that came to mind. I mean no offense to anyone else reading this who happens to be called that.**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: AAAH! It's been so long since I updated! Yes, I know, you all hate me . . . hopefully this will help you forgive me - I've made it extra long! (As long as my "extra long" chapters get anyway - my heart was in the right place!) I've tried to get rid of any and all mistakes, but you've seen how that worked out with Shocking Scarlett if you've read it and my keyboard is screwing up - seriously, it's skipping whole letters so I have to keep stopping and typing again! Anyway, enjoy!**

It's strange, but when you lose someone, it seems to be the little things about them that you miss the most. For Matt, it was Scott's smile. He had never really noticed, but Scott always smirked, if he ever showed a positive expression, not smiled; not genuinely. Not until that wonderful week, when they had been friends; in those days, Scott smiled at him all the time. But since the day when he had lost control of his emotions, he had only seen Scott smile once and that was when they met Jamie, Pedro and Professor Chambers at the airport and only after Jamie had thrown his arms around his brother in a big hug and begun to ramble about how glad he was that Scott was okay after all the danger they had been put through since their separation.

When Richard had unexpectedly interrupted them, him had take caught sight of the destroyed pillow and had wrongfully assumed that he and Scott had begun fighting again; he seemed more disappointed than angry, which hurt Matt a little bit, but he didn't even want to think of what Richard would do if he found out what they had actually been doing prior to his arrival. To stop them fighting and damaging anything else, Richard had separated them, giving Scott his old room so he would share with Matt. The boys had been both relieved and oddly upset by this change; they were both such a turbulent mesh of emotions and hormones that neither of them had a clue what to do and dreaded the idea of being alone with each other again, so they did what each had always done their entire lives: not talk about it and keep their problems to themselves. With the timely arrival of Pedro, who was now sharing with Matt, and Jamie, who was now sharing with his brother, this was easier than they had expected. But it wasn't going to last forever.

XXXXX

"The Nexus want to see us," Richard announced, walking into Matt and Pedro's room, which currently housed the two boys as well as the twins and the Professor. "Or you guys, at any rate."

Matt frowned, "What do they want now?"

Richard shrugged in response, "I don't know, some rubbish about "making preparations" or whatever. It was Miss Ashwood on the phone; you know what she's like."

"Who is Miss Ashwood?" Pedro asked, confused.

"A creepy medium who talks to dead people. You remember, I told you about her," Matt answered, "The spirits tell her what's going on; like, give her clues about what the Old Ones are up to."

"So she's got some news for us?" Scott asked, narrowing his eyes in thought.

"Maybe; we'll have to go and see her ourselves to find out." Matt replied. The two boys briefly locked eyes before quickly looking away from each other, as they did on everyone of the rare times they had spoken over the last few days.

"When do they want to see us, Richard?" Scott questioned brusquely, frowning as he tried to keep him mind on the issue at hand.

"Tomorrow, ten o'clock."

"Pedro and Jamie can't go." The Professor said suddenly.

"Why not?" Richard asked in surprise.

"The Professor's made an appointment for us at the local doctors," Jamie supplied out of the blue.

"Why do you need to go to the doctors? What's wrong?" Scott demanded as he looked down at his brother seated beside him on the couch.

"Don't worry, Scott, it's just for some shots." Professor Chambers answered in a soothing tone. "It's very easy to catch illnesses in a country like Peru and Jamie mentioned to me how you two didn't get proper healthcare in your country due to all the moving around you did with your various foster parents, so I took the liberty of getting the both of them an appointment to take care of it. Which reminds me," fixing an eagle-eyes stare on Richard, she asked, "you took care of that with Matt and Scott, did you?"

The blonde man averted his gaze to the floor, muttering something like "didn't cross my mind."

"Hmm-mm," the woman said, pursing her lips in annoyance. "Well, we'll take care of that in a little while. As for tomorrow, I'm afraid the three of you will just have to go by yourselves."

"Yes. I suppose so," Matt said tightly.

Scott said nothing, pushing off from his position leaning against red sofa's armrest and exiting the room, Jamie trailing after him a moment later.

XXXXX

'_Great, I'm back here again_,' Matt thought irritably as he found himself rising in the elevator of the Nexus' headquarters, Scott to his right, his brown eyes surveying everything, Richard on his left, as tense as he ever was in the building. Though Matt knew the Nexus only wanted to help him and his friends, he couldn't help but dread coming back here again.

Soon enough, he found himself leading the way into the meeting room of the modern flat, found himself staring at the same ten faces he had seen before. As they entered the room, Susan Ashwood tilted her head in the direction of the doorway, saying, "Matt, Mr Cole. I'm glad that you are both here and unharmed. And you've brought another one of the five with you."

"Yes." Matt answered shortly as he walked towards one of the empty chairs and sat down. "This is Scott."

"We've met before, briefly," Nathalie Johnson spoke up, her eyes inspecting the Native American teenager from top to bottom. "You're looking a lot better than the last time I saw you. Why don't you come in and sit down instead of hovering by the door? We're your allies here, you know."

Matt looked over his shoulder in surprise to see that Scott was, as the American woman had said, hovering around by the door as if unwilling to enter the room. From the way his eyes took in the room and the people in it, his gaze shrewd and suspicious, Matt could well believe it.

After a beat, Scott did as she suggested and took the seat next to the one Richard occupied, the space on his other side empty.

"I'm not entirely sure about that," Scott said, breaking the silence. "I appreciate you helping out my brother and I," he nodded to Nathalie, "but according to Matt and Richard here, you've already had one traitor in your group. I'd prefer to not be caught unawares."

"I assure you, young man," the police officer, Tarrant, decided to jump in on the conversation, "that since Fabian's betrayal, I have personally gone through the backgrounds on everyone here, with their consent, to be totally and utterly confident of their loyalty."

_'And what about your loyalty?'_ Matt thought as the trust he placed in Fabian came to mind. From the look on Richard's face and in Scott's eyes, they were thinking the same thing.

"Then you won't mind if I do a little check of my own, will you?" Scott asked casually, eyebrows rising slightly.

"A check of your own?" the Australian enquired, sounding confused. "If you want to, I won't object, but I'm not sure how you can do that."

Matt was certain he saw a smile tugging at the corner of the American woman's lips as they both knew about Scott's power. The boy himself smirked in response before turning to Matt and saying, "What do you think?"

Matt tried to keep the astonishment off his face, nodding and replying, "Go ahead; I trust you."

Matt saw his own feelings mirrored in Scott's dark eyes at those words as he leaned forward on the table and let his stare wander almost lazily over the others. Such a simple statement carried such heavy weight behind it as did the fact that Scott asked him first before using his telepathy. Scott had always openly resent Matt's otherwise unopposed position as the leader of the five, but here he was respecting it, out of a change of heart or a need to show unity in front of the people he saw as near-allies and potential enemies, Matt didn't know. But he was grateful nonetheless.

And looking round at the grim faces of the ten adults supporting them, Matt thought he detected a new level of respect in them as they looked at the two boys who were to be their saviours and saw the maturity and strength they both possessed.

"Okay, I'm convinced," Scott said as he leant back into his seat, his inspection over.

"Good," the Frenchman commented. "Before we begin, may I enquire as to the whereabouts of the other two boys?"

"They couldn't join us today, but they are here in the country; we're all together." Richard supplied.

The Frenchman nodded before continuing, "Now, to business; we believe we may have located one of the first bases of operations of the Old Ones, in Liverpool. It's a small warehouse that appears to hold legitimate stock of an international corporation, but there have been a few odd rumours surrounding the place that have us worried."

"What sort of rumours?" Matt asked, frowning.

"People disappearing after they've asked questions or gotten too close. Strange sights and sounds around the place at odd hours. The sheer size of the place is extremely unusual considering how much stock they claim to have there. And the fact that no one appears to work there; no one goes in or out at any time, apart the odd one or two people occasionally, but there is no consistency to it." Tarrant answered. "Small things and perhaps it's all a misunderstanding, but we don't want to let this go until we get to the bottom of this. And that's not all; according to the records, all the stock that goes to the warehouse, and the place itself, belong to the Nightrise Corporation."

Matt heard Richard's stifled gasp to his right and on the other side of his older friend, he saw the hand Scott had resting on the table tighten into a fist until his knuckles turned white. Nightrise; the corporation that had controlled the Psi project, plotted to kidnap the twins and tortured Scott until he was no longer in control of his own mind. Matt was now certain that they had found the right place for the war to begin.

"So what are you suggesting?" he asked carefully, trying to control his anger, his blue eyes flashing dangerously.

"While we know for a fact that many of the higher-ups of the Nightrise Corporation are in league with the Old Ones, it is still a legitimate business that employs thousands of people with no idea what their bosses are up to," Nathalie explained. "So we have to investigate this matter very carefully, or we'll alert the real servants of the Old Ones and they'll know that we're on their trail."

Tarrant took over, "What I'm proposing is an undercover operation with two of my men; they'll go to the warehouse in the middle of the day under the guise of inspectors in connection to a case of some sort. While they're keeping the employees' busy, one or two of you boys use you powers to snoop around and see if you can find anything." He nodded at Scott, "As you've met some of these people in person, I'd prefer it if you went so you can see if you recognise anything, then we may have a clearer picture of what we're up against."

"Are you out of your mind?" Richard shouted, completely losing his cool. "You can't send these boys in there! It's way too dangerous for them."

'_And I don't know if Scott can handle that . . ._' some part of Matt spoke up before he forcefully squashed that doubt.

"Why not?"

All eyes instantly turned to Scott as he uttered the response. He met Richard's horrified gaze frankly, his arms crossed over his chest; clearly his mind was already made up as to whether or not he would be involved.

"Because it's dangerous! Didn't you listen to what I just said?"

"The fact that it's dangerous is the very reason why we should go in the first place, Richard." Scott stated calmly, before cutting Richard off as the older man tried to continue. "If those cops go in there and it turns out they have got some kind of connection to the Old Ones, they won't get out of there alive. But if I'm in there, not only will I have a better chance of recognising important clues, I'll be warned if we're about to get into any kind of danger," here he tapped his forefinger against his temple to indicate his power, "so we can stay one step ahead. And if we do get into any trouble, I think Matt's power will be a far better weapon than any gun."

Scott paused before looking around Richard to stare into Matt's eyes, brown into blue, "That is, if you're coming with me?"

"Of course." Matt responded instantly. There was no way he was going to let Scott go into a place like that by himself.

As Richard spluttered incoherently, Tarrant concluded the discussion, "Good, then it's agreed. I'll set up the time of this operation for as soon as possible and will contact you with the particulars once it's all arranged."

"It's _not_ agreed!" Richard declared thunderously. "They are not doing this! They don't _have_ to do this!"

"Yes, we do, Richard." Matt said quietly. As with Scott earlier, all eyes turned to him. He ignored them as he turned to face his most loyal friend. "I know you're worried, Richard, and in all honesty, I don't want this either. But for whatever reason I don't understand, the five of us were chosen for this. This is our war and we've got to fight it."

Richard was silent as he stared at Matt, face unreadable. A few tense seconds went by before he sighed and slumped slightly in his seat. "Is that all you wanted to talk about then?" he asked the surrounding adults, his voice heavy with defeat.

"Yes, it was." Miss Ashwood spoke again for the first time since the beginning of the meeting. "Thank you for your time and your co-operation."

Matt and Richard stood up to leave when Scott suddenly said, "Wait. What about the girl? The whole reason you wanted us to come to this country was because you were sure she was here. What have you got?"

One of the other people in the room, a black man with a rich voice, who had never spoken before, answered this question, "We are certain she's here, but we're still searching. We have to be absolutely sure that it's the right girl before we bring her in or the consequences would be disastrous. We will keep you updated as to that matter."

Scott nodded slightly, satisfied, then stood and joined Matt and Richard as they left the room.

XXXXX

Matt hesitated as he stood outside the twins' bedroom door, feeling a definite sense of déjà vu. Sighing, he knocked on the door twice.

"Come in!" a voice called back.

Entering the room, Matt looked around only to see Scott sitting down on one of the beds, alone. "Where's Jamie?"

"Shower." Scott answered. "What's up?"

"Tarrant called. We're going to the warehouse three days from now, two p.m."

"Hm. Well, the professor will be happy; that gives her just enough time to subject us to some shots."

Matt's lips twitched up in slight amusement before he grew serious again. Moving into the room, he sat down on the bed opposite Scott and inspected his knees for a few anxious moments before looking up again to find Scott's intense stare on him. Feeling his heart begin to race, he said, "Are you sure you want to come with me? Jamie can do it instead."

"I thought you trusted me now?" Scott challenged. His tone was angry but his eyes revealed a deeper pain.

"I do, Scott, I promise. I just thought it might be – well, too much for you."

Scott looked down at the floor for a moment, and then met Matt's eyes once more. "I'll be okay." His smirked faintly, "Besides, I've got you to look after me, don't I?"

"Yes. You do." Matt answered seriously.

Scott looked away again to avoid Matt's penetrating scrutiny, gulping slightly, though Matt still saw it. "Scott . . . I –"

"Wow! That's a really good shower." Jamie announced happily as he sauntered out of the bathroom. In the midst of their discussion as they were, Matt and Scott had failed to hear the water turn off. As Jamie rubbed vigorously at his black hair with a towel, he noticed Matt sitting on his bed. "Hey, Matt."

"Hi, Jamie."

The younger twin became aware of an odd atmosphere between the first of the five and his twin. "Um, did I interrupt something?"

"No," Matt told him after a moment, getting to his feet. "I was just telling Scott some news; he can fill you in on it. Goodnight."

"Night, Matt."

Scott stayed silent, only meeting Matt's eyes one last time as he looked back before he walked out the door. Once there, Matt rested his forehead against the adjourning wall momentarily, trying to catch his breath, then turned on his heel and walked away.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Dedicated to Love Trunks who asked me to update but wasn't pushy about it ****J**

"You ready?" Matt whispered to Scott as they crouched down besides an industrial-waste bin at the rear wall of the warehouse.

Scott nodded, his body tense, his eyes alert, "Let's go."

Matt nodded in response before turning to face the door. It was industrial-strength titanium with a massive padlock holding it shut. Frowning in concentration, Matt pictured pushed on the pressure points in the whole and forced the padlock to open up, almost quicker than it would have done if they had a key. He then slowly eased the door open with his hands, careful to ensure that it didn't scrape or creak against anything.

Glancing at Scott, he gestured the boy to follow him as he lead the way into the building. It was entirely modern; silver and sterile, the light from the bulbs crossing the ceiling in rows reflecting so brightly it stung their eyes. There was a staircase up the left-hand side of the room that they climbed quietly, pausing at the closed door to listen for anyone on the inside.

"Is it locked?" Scott whispered in Matt's ear.

Matt shook his head, gently easing open the door, one millimetre at a time until there was a crack big enough for him to put his eye to and look. He saw no one, just another long corridor stretching out in front of them. Matt gestured to Scott again before abruptly shoving the door open and running forward. Moments later, Scott joined him, as he had to close the door behind them.

They passed several more doors, this time simple wooden ones, as they searched, pausing to listen at each one to see if anyone was inside before taking a look. They passed more storage rooms, two closets and a security room filled with camera's that, thankfully, only showed the main entrance and exit routes and not the side door they had infiltrated through. The guard sitting in front of all the monitors had earphones in and so didn't notice them enter and exit.

Suddenly voices echoed up the corridor towards them from behind the next door, getting closer as they listened. Matt nearly tripped over his own feet as Scott seized his arm and dragged him back down the corridor, opening the last closet they passed and pulling Matt inside with him, almost slamming the door shut.

He appeared to have done so just in the nick of time as footsteps could be heard in the hallway, coming towards them. Matt turned to Scott and tapped his arm to get his attention. When the brown-eyed boy glanced up, Matt pointed to the closed door, then at Scott, then tapped his temple. Despite having to squint in the dark to see what the first of the five was doing, Scott nodded and closed his eyes, concentrating. Matt put his ear to the door to listen. The newcomers appeared to be two men from the sounds of their voices, but the wooden door was thick and muffled them so well that Matt couldn't make out what they were saying.

As the sounds faded, Matt felt Scott jerk on his arm. Glancing back, he saw Scott gesturing for him to open the door. They both clambered out, wincing simultaneously when some bottles of cleaning products that Scott had displaced when he jumped into the closet came crashing down to the assorted buckets and mops on the floor, loudly.

They paused, but no one came running. Matt turned to Scott, "Any idea where to go?"

"There's an office just up ahead and to the left," Scott murmured, "that's all they knew that seemed likely."

Matt nodded and held his arm out, indicating for Scott to lead the way. About five minutes later, they reached a large oak door with a polished gold handle and a plaque reading, "Warehouse Manager" on the front.

Scott quickly searched to see if there was a mind in there, but it was empty, so he reached out to the handle and tried to turn it. It was either jammed, or locked. Matt made a shooing motion with his hand and, as Scott stepped out of the way, pushed at the obstruction with his mind. It opened easily.

The inside of the office was a marked difference to the rest of the building. It was painted a deep red, with several abstract paintings dotted along the high walls and housed three plush armchairs; two in front of the large, antique-looking desk and one behind it. Matt headed towards the desk and began rifling through the draws whilst Scott went to the opposite wall and did the same with the two steel filing cabinets.

"How long have we got left?" Scott asked in an undertone as he closed the first drawer and started on the next one.

Matt glanced at his watch. Tarrant had only guaranteed them half an hour, and that was only if the operation went smoothly from the beginning. "'Bout eighteen minutes."

It soon became clear that there was nothing in the desk, so Matt headed over to the third filing cabinet to help Scott out, as the American boy began on the second one. As he did, he noticed that one of the paintings was hanging crooked. A niggling doubt filled his mind and he quickly walked over to the painting, lightly easing it away from the wall it hung on. A small thrill of triumph went through him as it revealed a wall safe which he soon wrenched from the wall. The noise as the metal tore itself apart was incredibly grating and surprisingly loud, causing both boys to flinch.

Scott, abandoning the third filling cabinet raced over to Matt's side, "What are you doing? Someone's gonna hear us!"

"If it's in a safe it's got to be important!" Matt hissed as he put the heavy door down on the floor briefly. Taking a look inside the safe, he saw a bulky black box, almost as big as the safe itself. Easing it out slowly, he reached to open it.

"Not so subtle, are we, boys?"

Dropping the box in shock, both boys turned to the sneering, somewhat familiar man who stood in the middle of the room, the door wide open and six guards standing behind him. Before Matt could do anything his whole body exploded with pain and he was knocked off his feet. Scott turned in shock before recognising, with horror, the long wires trailing from the dart-like thing on Matt's chest to the gun in the mystery man's hand. A Tasar gun.

_'Where the hell did they get that?_' Scott thought as he lunged down to picked Matt up, leaning his weight against his shoulder to steady him. Then, in a sudden moment of clarity, he remembered that Tarrant told them he would ensure their undercover inspector would be armed.

'_So they've already got to him_,' Scott realised grimly.

As soon as Matt hit the ground, the guards had rushed forward, one seizing hold of Matt as Scott stood again and dragging him free of Scott's grasp, two more tackling the American teenager to the ground. He felt cold metal on his wrists and knew he'd been handcuffed. As he was hauled to his feet, he saw one of the remaining men come forward with a black blindfold, which they then bound over Matt's eyes as two others held him between them.

"Make sure he can't see a thing," the first man said, as he removed the end of the Tasar from Matt's chest, "we don't want him using his powers once he's regained control of himself."

'_Damn it!'_ Matt thought. With a sinking heart, he knew these men had been prepared; if he couldn't see, he couldn't attack them.

Matt and Scott had both of their arms seized by a guard and were dragged out of the room.

XXXXX

"We're doomed."

"Oh really, Matt? Now what gave you that idea?" Scott drawled sarcastically, trying to keep the circulation of his blood in his arms despite the tight shackles. "Was it the fact that they killed the cop? Or because we're currently chained to a wall?"

"Not helping, Scott."

Strictly speaking, Matt and Scott were only attached to the wall by a thin chain that seemed more appropriate to use as a leash for a dog. They were actually tied back-to-back with an industrial-strength steel chain and handcuffs for good measure. Needlessly to say, the operation had been a complete and utter failure – the inspector who had gone in as their cover had been killed as soon as the door had closed behind him. Now the two sat where they were, in one of the empty storage rooms they had passed on the way to the office, awaiting their captors to come in and decide what to do with them.

"Can you get these chains of?" Scott asked, rattling them for extra emphasis.

"No, I've still got this stupid blindfold on, remember?"

"Yeah, I know, you can't see 'em, but you can _feel_ them. Will that help?" Scott suggested impatiently.

Matt paused for a moment, then said, "Maybe. I've never tried before and these chains are pretty strong. Besides, we don't know how long it'll take or when they're going to come back."

"Try with the handcuffs first."

"Okay." Taking a deep breath, Matt focus on the feel of the cold metal digging into his skin. As he predicted, it was a lot harder than if he could see it, especially as his arms were twisted behind his back. A few minutes later, however, a small _click _was heard and, when he wiggled his right wrist, he found that it had come loose.

"Did you do it?" Scott asked, trying to contain his hope and agitation.

"I got one hand loose."

"Okay, that's a good start."

Taking the hint, Matt focused on the other one. It happened quicker this time and he shook both hands loose. The two boys were pressed so closely together that the handcuffs stayed lodged against Scott's back. Twisting a little, Matt felt around until his fingers touched the pair clasped around Scott's wrists and began to concentrate.

That was broken, however, when the door flew open. "Hello, boys. Comfy?"

"Did you come in here just to gloat?" Scott snarled. Reaching back, he tapped Matt's hands, silently urging him to carry on. With any luck, Scott would be able to keep the man talking until they were both free.

"Well, yes." The man conceded, a horrible smirk twisting his face. "It's been a while, Scott."

Scott frowned, "Do I know you?"

"You don't remember me? I'm hurt." The man leant closer, bringing his face within a centimetre of Scott's, his stale breath fanning onto the boy's face. "Let me refresh your memory; a few months ago, you took a little trip to a place called Silent Creek, yes?"

All the blood drained out of Scot's face as the memories hit him; pressed against the American the way he was, Matt could feel his back go tense, feel his muscles move as his breathing became heavier. He was frightened.

Matt managed to get one half of Scott's handcuffs off and desperately tried to calm his mind so he could release the other half and then work on the chain; but it was really hard to do when he could sense Scott panicking behind him.

"Ah, now you remember, don't you?" the vile man said, leaning in to whisper in Scott's ear, he was very quiet, but Matt could still hear every word. "You remember what I did to you, child? Remember how I reached into your mind and twisted it until it wasn't yours anymore? It still isn't, is it? You can still feel what I did, lingering inside of you. And do you remember when Mr Banes left us all alone together? Do you remember my hands on you . . ."

Black rage welled up inside of Matt, so deep and powerful it overwhelmed him, like a river bursting during a flood. The final cuff and the chain blew themselves apart, the horrible man howling in pain as shrapnel flew into his face, a piece catching him in the eye. Matt launched himself to his feet, tearing off the blindfold as the door once again flew open and the guards from before barged in.

The Tasar gun once again threatened him, but as the dart fired, Matt found himself abruptly thrown to the ground. Scott had tackled Matt to the ground, the end of the Tasar just missing his arm. From his position on the floor, Matt narrowed his eyes and pushed a wall of energy at the guards. All six of them crashed into the opposite wall, some dazed and others writhing in pain, the impact having broken several bones.

The two boys picked themselves up and sprinted out of the room, Matt reaching down to scoop up the black box from the safe that one of the guards had apparently been safe-holding as they passed him.

**A/N: Hope it was okay!**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Once again, I am terribly sorry about the unforgivably long wait. Things haven't exactly been great at home recently . . . Anyway, on with the fic! I spent extra time editing it this time around and I used a new method, so it should be much better in terms of grammar and spelling now.**

The door was thrown open so violently it smashed into the wall and left a goodly sized dent. Matt was amazed the doorknob didn't snap off.

"That is it!" Professor Chambers cried in fury, flinging herself down into a squishy red armchair and snatching a bottle of whiskey off the side table, "I've had it up to here with those people!"

"I take it the Nexus were a pain in the backside, as per usual?" Richard questioned dryly, an eyebrow arched.

The professor took a swig from the glass decanter before she answered him. "Yes. They didn't even acknowledge that they almost got these two killed," she jerked her head in Matt and Scott's direction as she said this, the former seated on the sofa in between Pedro and Jamie, the latter perched on the arm next to his brother.

"What did they have to say about the girl?" Pedro asked in his low formal voice.

The woman shrugged, her anger draining away to be met by unhappy resignation, "That they're going to monitor her for a little while to make sure it's her and then pick her up when they're certain."

"Why wait? If the Nightrise Corporation was able to track down Scott and I, it's pretty likely that they've got the right girl." Jamie exclaimed in a mixture of shock and anger.

Scott nodded in agreement with his twin, arms folded tight across his chest, "Yeah, and every minute they waste watching her, the more opportunities they give the Old Ones to take her out from under our noses."

"I said all that but the damn fools won't listen to us!" The professor took another shot of whiskey.

Scott snorted. "For a group dedicated to help us, they're not all that helpful, are they?"

Richard nodded wearily, "True; that rather defeats their purpose, doesn't it?"

Simultaneously, though without prompt, six pairs of eyes moved to gaze at the contents of the black box Matt and Scott stole littered on the surface of the coffee table. Photographs, school reports, minor mentions of scholastic athletic achievements in newspapers, they all spoke of the same girl: Scarlett Adams.

The last of the five.

Though outwardly he appeared calm, internally Matt cursed. Finally, after all this effort, all this worry, they had found her, she was within reach and they still couldn't touch her. Matt was all for the tactical advantages of being cautious, but now was not the time to employ them, now was the time to be decisive. The war was beginning and they had to be ready, they had to be united, not divided.

Though they were divided in more ways than one . . .

Matt's eyes darted round to look at Scott, who, like the others, had his attention fixed on the photographs of Scarlett. Then, as if sensing his gaze, he glanced over at Matt and for a brief second their eyes met, blue staring into brown. Then Scott looked away.

'_I have to talk to him . . ._' Matt thought decisively.

XXXXX

"Scott, hold up a second."

The Native American boy closed his eyes in defeat as Matt's voice called out to him. He paused in the hallway between their conjoined rooms, waving Jamie on when his brother hesitated. When they were alone, Scott turned to face the English boy, keeping his face a neutral mask of calm.

"What's up?" He asked nonchalantly.

Matt gave him a sharp look that clearly said he was not fooled. "Scott, we have to talk about what happened in the warehouse."

Trying not to gulp, Scott shrugged. "Nothing to talk about. We went in, we got caught, you saved us and we got out. What more is there?"

As he turned to head to his door, he felt Matt's hand drop onto his shoulder, not quite restraining him, but it's insistent grip stopped him from moving any further. Matt's voice was low and soft, "You know what I'm talking about. What that guy said to you – about what happened in Silent Creek . . ."

Scott spun violently, throwing Matt's hand off. He wasn't angry, as Matt had expected, instead, he looked almost scared. "We don't need to talk about it. It's in the past. Let it go, okay? It's not important."

"It's hurting you, Scott. That makes it important." Matt replied gently, but persistently.

"No." Scott said firmly, almost defiantly, as he looked Matt in the eye. "It's in the past, Matt. It can't be changed, so there's no point dwelling on it."

"It's important to me, because it's _hurting_ you, Scott."

"Yes, it's hurting me!" Scott suddenly burst out, though he wasn't quite shouting. "Of course it's hurting me! It haunts me! It was the worst thing that ever happened to me in my life – so far anyway – and believe me; I've had a lot of crappy things happen to me in my life. So what? What can I possibly do about it?"

"Talk to me," Matt whispered. He reached out and brushed Scott's fingers softly. With that brief contact, all the fight seemed to melt away from the other boy as he sagged slightly. "Just talk to me, Scott. Let me help you."

"You can't." He murmured, eyes downcast. "You can't, Matt. I can't. I don't want to drag you down."

"Drag me down?" Matt frowned, not understanding.

Scott looked up again, his eyes full of pain and sorrow. "I don't want to make you dirty too."

"Make me – what are you talking about? Tell me, Scott. Tell me."

Scott said nothing. He just stood still and stared into Matt's eyes, his own dull and his eyelashes a little damp as if he were fighting back tears. But he wouldn't cry. Scott never cried. His sad eyes came nearer as he stepped towards Matt, closing the space between them in a matter of seconds. Emotions Matt couldn't even being to name or describe began to well up within him as Scott's thick black hair fell forward and lightly tickled his cheek.

"Matt . . ." he whispered, bringing his lips closer and closer.

Matt's eyes slid closed as he stopped fighting.

"Boys!"

The teenagers froze, a mere centimetre seperating their open mouths. Richard called again from the main room, "I'm getting food now; who wants what?"

Matt wasn't a particularly violent person, especially not to someone like Richard, who he loved like family, but at this specific moment, he felt like could easily cause him minor harm. Disappointment rose in Matt's gut as Scott sighed and pulled away; he turned around and entered his room as quickly as possible, not once looking back.

Matt remained where he was for a moment to regain control of himself before turning and heading back to the main room. He resolved to give Scott his space – for now.

XXXXX

Scott stared up at the moon from the dark shadows of the alleyway besides the hotel. It was cold outside and his breath made little puffs of misty fog in the air as he exhaled, but he didn't want to go back in, not yet. Memories were washing over him, from Silent Creek and all the other painful times before.

And then there was Matt. He wanted to be close to him and far away at the same time. He supposed Matt must be feeling pretty confused after the incident a few days ago, before Jamie, Pedro and the professor came to London, and then again in the hallway . . .

But Scott wasn't confused. He knew how he felt; he knew _what_ he felt.

"Hello Scott."

He just had time to jump away from the wall in shock and spin around to face them before they got him.

**A/N: Just so you know, I said that Pedro speaks formally because he seems to in the books, at least more than the other boys, as well as the fact that people who learn English as a second language tend to do this as they typically don't yet have the hang of the colloquialism and such like that makes language informal, yes?**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Please forgive me. I hope this chapter makes up for my transgressions. A huge thank you to HubrisP for giving me this idea, I hope you like the interpretation.**

The metal was cold against his back.

That was Scott's first thought on regaining consciousness. He had been stripped of all his clothing apart from his black jeans, which clung heavily to his body from the warmly damp atmosphere, his wrists and ankles bound with something he suspected might be leather, chafing the skin beneath as he tugged experimentally. No steel this time; physical strength was not an issue in holding him down, unlike with Matt. Lifting his shoulders and head as far as he could, he saw that he was tied down in a T shape, his arms stretched out to the very edges of the table, his legs in front of him.

He briefly thought back to that time Marcie had forced him and Jamie to go to Church, recalled looking up at the crucifixion of Jesus sadly and wondering how much it had hurt him to die like that.

Scott tossed his head to the side, irritably flicking sweaty tendrils of hair out of his face. Now was no time for nostalgia, he had to figure out where he was and how to escape!

He was in a room that seemed to be half dungeon, half surgery theatre. The light from the lamps lining the room reflected harshly off of the polished chrome surfaces, making his eyes sting if he looked for too long. There were no windows, the only entrance and exit being the door about five meters away from him. It was like something out of a crime drama, dark grey iron with a slide-out section to look in through, striped with bars. Dotted around the room were elaborate markings made with what appeared to be black paint, lines of brown cutting through occasionally. The sight of them made something stir inside of him, the ghost of a memory. What was it?

It hit him like a slap in the face. The ritual the villagers of Lesser Malling had used to try to sacrifice Matt at Raven's Gate. They were the same symbols!

Scott jerked upwards in horror at the realisation, pain crackling through bruised and torn muscles, the result of his struggle with his kidnappers, at the sudden movement. He ignored it as he squinted, trying to make them out.

_'No . . . not the exact same, but similar_,' he amended. Whatever they were here for, it was definitely not good news for him.

The screech of metal on metal caught his attention as the door was unlocked from the outside and pushed open. Scott gulped involuntarily; sweat sliding down his cheek from his forehead. The same man from Silent Creek and the failed mission of theirs strolled into the room casually, as if he were walking to work. Which, Scott thought, he actually was.

The man paused as he reached the table, reaching round to the side behind Scott's head to pull up the industrial stool that had evidently been placed there for his usage. He winced slightly as he lowered himself down onto it, as if his joints were in pain, or perhaps his back.

In the unforgiving light, Scott took the time to briefly look over the man's features as he had not before. One of his eyes was missing, the result of Matt's power helping them to escape, the surrounding skin red and raw with still-fresh cuts, the hole left behind covered with a cheesy black eye patch, like something out of a bad action or pirate movie. The other eye was bloodshot, from what Scott could not tell, the pupil so huge it nearly obliterated all the colour of his iris, which itself, was so pale as to almost be as white as the sclera.

The torturer had a nondescript face, the kind you would look at and forget immediately. Up close Scott could see the unhealthy tint of his skin. Prison pallor, that was the term. What inmates got when they hadn't seen the sun in a long time.

The man cracked a manic grin and Scott internally shuddered at the state of his teeth, black and yellow, probably what caused his stinking breath, as well as the intent behind the leer. He reached and casually placed a hand on Scott's exposed stomach, a twisted version of an affectionate gesture. His eyes trailed up the teenager's exposed body to his face, a gaze that made his very flesh crawl with disgust.

"You've caused me an awful lot of trouble, you know." His voice was like the hiss of a serpent. Scott made no reply, thinking this to be the safest option until he knew what was going to happen.

"They thought I broke you._ I_ thought I broke you; they were so very angry with me when they found I'd made a mistake. The thing was, I didn't, not really. Did I, Scott?" He smirked, staring into Scott's eyes as if he too possessed the power of telepathy. "It haunts you; I saw it in your reaction at our previous meeting. I may not have broken you but I damaged you. And my methods failed through no fault of my own, they'd always worked before. It was your fault. Your inner strength was incredible, as if you have a core of iron. I could weaken but not destroy it. It was exhilarating to try."

He paused here, as if he expected Scott to say something. When he didn't, the man continued with his monologue. "I must thank you for that. Not only did you entertain me as I haven't been entertained for, oh so many years, but you presented a possibility to me that has never been considered before. I don't know if you are aware, but our King, whom your kind call "Chaos" has no corporeal form of his own, he is the living embodiment of evil and terror and all the hideous things in this world."

Scott shuddered at the memory of that horrific _thing_ emerge from the gateway in Peru. It was an image he would never forget, even if was never really his. The man felt the movement, making his smirk widen.

"But," here his eyes darkened, the shadow of rage crossing his face, causing Scott to unwillingly shrink back against the slab. "That brat, Matthew Freeman, wounded him as he was freed. He was already weakened from his millennia of confinement and the boy's power was at maximum capacity, twenty times the strength he currently has. He is hurt, damaged, just as I damaged you, child. His power leaks out in sudden bursts, near uncontrollably. He needs time to heal. And that's where you come in."

The anger disappeared and in its place a petrifying hunger appeared. "He needs a vessel, one who can contain his essence until he can repair himself and this honour has been placed on you. Your inner strength will keep you alive and he will draw on that until there is nothing left, draining it out of you bit by bit, causing your very soul to waste away. I estimate you may last three months, maybe six, until you disappear completely."

He smiled as Scott lay there frozen, his mind unable to process the fate that awaited him, unwilling to believe that such a slow, torturous death could be possible.

The gloating continued. "Would you like to know why you were chosen? Your strength was the deciding factor, it's true, but there is also a certain poetic justice in having one of the five, who is supposedly destined to destroy him, cursed to carry him to victory. The other four will be weakened by your loss. The very fact that you will be alive for all this is, in my opinion, the best bit. If you died, Flint would be brought to the future to take your place, completing the circle. While you live, this is impossible."

He leaned forward so he was hovering over Scott's prone body, his mouth lingering by Scott's ear. He whispered, "He's in love with you, you know. I possess the ability to see auras and his lights up like an inferno in your presence. You will watch him suffer as he desperately tries to save you when he cannot; nothing can once you are taken over. My King may even kill him whilst in your body, so he can look in your eyes as he dies, so you can feel his blood on your hands and he will feed on the pain you'll both feel, making him stronger still."

He straightened up abruptly and left the room, closing the door quietly behind him. Scott tried to draw air into his lungs and found he could not.

XXXXX

Anger swam through Matt's veins with his blood, pounding at the back of his head as he watched these stupid, heartless fools discuss strategy. That was not what was important here. Why couldn't they see that? They had to find him, had to rescue him, _now_.

"We cannot muster sufficient enough forces to attempt any kind of retrieval until tomorrow at the earliest and that's all there is too it!"

"He is one of the five! He must be saved without delay, forces or no."

"Are you insane? They'll be killed without backup!"

"And Scott could be killed or worse if we have to wait until the morning, we must move now!"

Their voices faded in and out of Matt's mind, a single mantra repeating, just one word, constant as a heartbeat.

_Scott, Scott, Scott, Scott, Scott . . . _

Vaguely sensing a gaze on him, he looked up, into the unseeing eyes of Susan Ashwood. She stared at him stoically, as if trying to tell him something silently.

_Scott, Scott, Scott, Scott, Scott . . . _

Jamie sidled up to Matt's shoulder, reaching up slightly to whisper into his ear, "We've got to do something. I don't care what they say. My brother . . ."

_Scott, Scott, Scott, Scott, Scott . . . _

The blind medium gave him the tiniest of nods, as if she had heard Jamie and agreed with him. Matt did not so much as glance at the Native American beside him as he spoke. "Let's go."

Turning, Matt lead the way among the bickering adults to the exit, beckoning Pedro as he walked. The Peruvian boy hesitated for the briefest of seconds before following. None of them, excluding Susan Ashwood, noticed as the three boys left the room, or as they descended in the elevator, or as they walked down the street.

_Scott._


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Hey everybody. I bought my copy of Oblivion about an hour ago and all I've read is the dust jacket. It's enough to make me write this in protest (I think; I made an assumption based off of it that proved to be utterly false, in which case I will rejoice mightily, but somehow I doubt it). Enjoy.**

The ceremony had begun. Men and women, dozens of them, had swarmed into his prison, one by one, the torturer from his nightmares taking pride of place at his right hand. Two men had stepped forward once all were assembled in a tight circle and flicked a switch on the two bars acting as table legs, allowing them to tilt the top so it was now upright, all of Scott's weight held by the leather tassels. Blood dripped down his arm to hit the floor in a gentle _pitter-patter_ from them; he'd rubbed his skin raw trying to free himself, ignoring the pain as the chanting began.

"NODEB . . . TEMOCMOD . . . EMANY . . . NEVAEH . . . NITRA . . ."

They're voices echoed in the stone walls, growing somehow louder, more passionate as they neared the end. In the flickering firelight of the now-lit candles, Scott could see the intense expressions of concentration, the feverish euphoria of triumph. Any moment now his slow death would be at hand. In steady, measured steps, the torturer stepped forwards to stand exactly in the middle of the ring and turned to face Scott, bringing with him a sort of staff, made out of some kind of black wood he was unable to identify.

He raised his arm and brought the cane down, one, two, three times, the heavy sound rebounding as the dark prayer came to a close. With the final beat, everyone in the circle dropped to their knees, their foreheads pressed to the ground in supplication. "Chaos," he began, voice clear and ringing, "God of darkness, Lord of terror, Bringer of destruction! I summon thee, now, to this place, bedecked in your name. We, your obedient servants, call on you to walk among us once more! Here is your vessel," he stabbed the staff into Scott's chest, the solid edge striking his heart and pushing forwards, as if to drive the wood straight through his flesh and bone to the organ, "Unworthy though he be of your illustrious shadow. Receive him, consume him, and lead us again to glory in your unholy name!"

The candles exploded in their wicks, leaving the room pitch place. A moment passed before lightning struck at the window, smashing the glass so it rained down upon the people below, causing them to cry out in shock, a few in pain as the energetic fall caused several pieces to pierce skin.

"Stay where you are!" the leader cried, his remaining eye seeming to burn from an inner light, his gaze tied to Scott's. The boy's naturally dark skin had paled a shade and he'd begun to breathe heavily, the position he was held in and the fear, weighing heavy on his lungs. "Do _not_ break the circle! He is coming! _He is coming!"_

The last few words were screeched out in a noise similar to sobbing. Defying nature, lightning flew from all directions, every window blown to shards, for the beams to meet in the middle, directly above the preaching man's head. The wind howled outside, demanding to be let in, beating the doors and chains within so they slammed out against stone and concrete. The painted symbols about the place seemed to glow and pulse around them.

"Chaos, we summon thee!" came the cry, which was quickly picked up by his followers, shaking and injured as they were. Chaos, we summon thee! Chaos, we summon thee! _Chaos, we summon thee!"_

Black smoke materialized from beneath their feet, curling and coiling towards the light above, mixing, overtaking, empowering, until the very symbol of life itself was tainted with its darkness.

"CHAOS! WE SUMMON THEE!"

Scott just had time to twist his head up in a herculean effort to see the components coalesce into a single entity and, guided by the black wood staff, strike towards his heart. His mind clouded over in a red mist and he fainting registered the unearthly-sounded screams of utter agony were forcing their way from his own lips.

The world stopped.

"NOOOO!"

Matt's scream of rage penetrated the room, cutting through the followers triumphant like a knife. They had all come to their feet, to dance and whoop with glee at having finally achieved their life's only ambition. Now they froze in fear, eyes drawn to the maddened young man standing in the crumbling door way, his two companions at either side, a pace behind him, their horrified faces drawn and pinched tight.

The leader was not entranced as his followers were, laughing delightedly. He strode forward, carelessly, recklessly, to face him. "You are too late, Matthew Freeman! Your Scott is gone and my Lord has risen in his place!" his one good eye briefly flickered over to where the boy's body was still propped up like Jesus at the crucifixion, silent and prone, strands of his dark hair hiding his face as his drooped forward, chin to his chest. He forced himself not to frown at the sight and kept up his superior façade. "In but a moment you and your friends will be the first to experience the true strength of the Great God Chaos' wrath! You, who dared to believe that you had the power, the right, to stand against – !"

"Shut. Your. _Mouth."_

For a single, lingering moment, everything was hushed. Then the leader's skeleton ripped itself to pieces, shredding through his muscles and ligaments to fling themselves at the sides of the room. Fat, fit-to-burst blobs of blood struck the surrounding crowd with splatters of red, leaving them to run down skin in sticky streaks. One by one, the followers started to shriek at the man's disgusting demise, some pointing and wailing while others stared in panic at the three newcomers. Pedro and Jamie had both taken a few accidental steps back, rubbing fragments off their faces and out of their eyes. Matt hadn't moved, his T-shirt soaked in the brunt of the expulsion, a fine sheen on his previously white face, still set in the concentrated look he'd take on when mentally seizing the man's body to wreak vengeance.

"Why all this racket?"

Like flicking a switch, everyone grew silent and swiveled in one, simultaneous motion to pace the boy tied to the table. His face was raised, eyes boring into them all and after a moment, a smile forged of pure malicious desire worked its way onto his features. Twisting his shoulders, he released his left hand with a single shard jerk, then his right. The bindings at his ankles faded out of existence in a blurry haze, not deigning to pull his legs loose of them as well.

He set his bare feet upon the floor in an inhumanely graceful movement, his head tilting unnaturally on his neck to look first to his right, then to his left; his followers once again sank to their knees, worship adorning their faces as they looked upon their deity.

Finally, Chaos looked Matt straight in the eye and his evil smile grew wider still, stretching the skin of Scott's face. "Hello. Do you remember me?"

Matt's jaw line hardened until the set of his face resembled stone. "Get out of Scott's body._ Now_."

Chaos frowned theatrically, twisting his assumed mouth into something along the lines of a pout, grotesque as the result was. "Why would I do that? He's perfect for me, don't you think?" Chaos ran dark-skinned fingers down Scott's leanly muscled chest, catching droplets of the leader's sprayed blood of the sternum bone and raising the hand to eye level as if to inspect it. "Oh_ my_, Matt. What a wonderfully deplorable idea you had just then."

He turned his malevolent gaze onto the surrounding people and they fled, trying to escape what they knew was coming. They didn't make it.

Behind him, Matt heard Jamie retch and sensed Pedro's uneasy movement at what was unleashed. Using Scott's hands as conduits, Chaos sent rays of shadows racing towards the running humans. The lucky ones were hit in the heart or head and died instantaneously. Others were left to bleed to death, their torso's separated from their hips and legs, or desperately trying to force their pulsing, still-working organs back into clawed-apart bodies in an effort to cling to life.

Matt ignored them. He studied every part of the being in front of him: Scott's disheveled hair, Scott's tapered limbs, Scott's face, Scott's eyes.

No. Not Scott's eyes. There was the shape and the eyelashes framing them and the beginning of tired bags beneath them and the warm, sensual colour but they were tainted. Deep down, Chaos shined through them. Scott was gone.

"Mmm," Chaos hummed in displeasure, staring down at the fresh scars marring Scott's hands from the energy blasts. "Not up to my usual standard, but I suppose I'll become accustomed to the boy's endurance levels. Then again," he suddenly added, glancing up through Scott's fringe in a mannerism so familiar it made Matt's heart ache, "I suppose it doesn't really matter. After all,_ I'm_ not the one who feels the pain."

Smirking, he placed the nails of the left hand in line with the new scar adorning the right and shoved them down so they penetrated skin, the scratching noise as they scraped the bone actually audible.

"Scott!" Jamie cried, jerking forward. Matt flung out an arm at the last minute to stop him charging forwards in a futile attempt to rescue his twin.

"Oh dear," Chaos crowed, an ill-fitting mockery of concern adorning his stolen face. "Did you think to help him, child? Poor, _poor_ Jamie, you really must learn not to rely on your big brother so." The smirk broke free again, as if Chaos was unable to contain his glee at the suffering he was experiencing from all four boys. "Well, as you mortals say, no time like the present!" he lifted his left arm up and brought it swinging down in a wide arc, slicing through the air. As if seized by an invisible hand, Jamie flew through the air with a cry of alarm, slamming into the stone wall to Matt's right so hard several bones broke upon contact. He blacked out with the pain before he even hit the floor.

"Is that all it takes?" Chaos sneered. "I got the better one for certain. Scott endured far more absorbing me and still here he remains in the forefront of my mind. Ah ah ah, little Pedro!" the Peruvian boy was plucked off the ground to hover in mid-air high above Matt's head as the English boy turned to look at his friend in fright. He'd been caught running to Jamie's aid. "Can't have you ruining my fun now!"

Another gesture and Pedro was against the other wall, the chains hanging there snaking around to twine across his body, locking him in place painfully tight. He grunted and swore in Spanish, trying to fight the metal bindings off.

"Don't think I've forgotten _your_ part in my failed return as well, boy!" Chaos snarled, face contorted with rage. "If you hadn't healed Matt when you first met, my arrival would have been the success it should have. The world would already be half-conquered!"

Pedro cried out as the chains tightened even more.

"No, Chaos!" Matt roared. The scattered glass in the room swirled like sand and skittered around, keeled up with Matt's suppressed magic. The demonic being swung around jerkily to face him, expressionless. "It was _me_ who was supposed to be sacrificed at Raven's Gate! It was _me_ who stopped you from taking over everything! _I_ did it! _I'm_ the one you want! Leave them alone and face me instead!"

"As you wish." The words were made of pure spite. Turning Scott's gaze heavenward, Chaos carved deep cracks into the stone ceiling and brought it down on Matt' head. The boy only managed to but a barrier up with seconds to spare. Snarling, Chaos threw shrapnel from all places at him. Glass scraped his skin, a mangled lead pipe bruised his shin bone, rocks broke his skin and spilled his blood. He gritted his teeth and hung on to his power, refusing to allow the caved in roof to crush them all.

"You . . . won't . . . _win!"_ Matt gasped out, staring the evil creature down.

"Oh really?" Chaos asked casually, leaning almost lazily away from the first of the five. "And why is that?"

Matt somehow managed to arrange his facial muscles into a tired smile. "You said 'forefront', right?"

Scott's eyes widened. "What?"

_'Scott!_' Matt cried with his mind, hoping against hope the message would get through._ 'Scott, can you hear me? Are you there? Scott!'_

Seconds later, a small voice, so faint he could barely hear it came through, like music crackling through static on an old radio, _'Help me . . .'_

_'I'll free you, Scott, I promise!'_

_'How? He's so strong . . .'_

Matt squinted his eyes so they narrowed into slits and slammed a wall of pent-up energy into Chaos. Scott's body jerked back abdomen first. Chaos frowned, confused. "What? What are you doing?" In reply, Matt sent another shock, this one forcing Scott's body to jackknife in two.

"That won't work!" Chaos shrieked, one eye squeeze closed, perspiring with anxiety. "I'm inside of him! He's the only one getting hurt here!"

_'Not for long,'_ Matt thought grimly. _'I'm sorry Scott, but you need to ignore the pain if I'm going to be able to force him out of you!'_

His answer took several long moments to arrive and when it did, it was fainter than ever, making Matt's heart pound with dread. '_What do you need me to do?'_

_'Pull me inside of you, to where he is, like we did before!'_

Without knowing how, Matt sensed Scott summon up the last of his strength, felt his presence within his own mind before he dragged into another plane, the darkness within repulsive, as if it tainted whatever touched it. Matt looked into the eyes Chaos had stolen, saw Scott there, felt the strength of their combined power and with one mighty heave that took everything they both had, rammed the evil creature from his soul.

The building was utterly destroyed as Chaos rushed from it, screams from a thousand victims chasing after him as he was flung into the world once again, perplexed, angry and in pain.

Matt drew in a breath, the motion piercing his lungs even deeper. He looked, saw Scott return and heard him whisper, with his own mouth and his own air, "Help me."

Then he was gone.

**A/N: Yeah, that thing about the putting the organs back in didn't really make sense, but I liked the imagery too much to get rid of it. Think stomach, or intestines, that's more plausible.**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Okay, last chapter, everybody, though it's quite small, I'm afraid. Thanks for sticking it with me this far! :)**

**Guest: I guess you have a point, it might be a bit rushed; I was trying to keep the momentum going – and I feel I had some good dialogue for that scene, which is most unusual for me, so I wanted to get it written down quickly. Hopefully you will enjoy this more.**

The world had fallen into utter silence. Or so it appeared. With the scream of Chaos' defeat still echoing in his ears, the contrast was disconcerting for Matt.

He stood with the palm of his hand placed flat on Scott's bedroom door, as if trying to sense through flesh, blood and will power if the boy on the other side of the obstruction was all right. Eighteen hours had passed since the battle had ended and the four boys had received medical treatment and were now being housed in a private wing funded by the Nexus, each with their own room. Jamie had been forced into a sedative-fueled sleep as his broken ribs proved too painful to allow it naturally, but Matt wasn't worried; he had a sneaking suspicion that Pedro had worked his gift on the unconscious boy when he visited the room to "check up" on him before retiring to bed himself. Richard and Professor Chamber's had been to see them and then disappeared totally. Probably off to hurl abuse at the Nexus members for their lack of action and attention. Matt didn't care.

But he _did_ care about Scott.

He'd not seen the other boy since he'd collapsed into his arms and hadn't had a word about how he was. It was just as he'd been drifting into an exhausted slumber of his own that he'd heard some orderlies outside his door discussing the "_odd boy"_ in room sixteen before they'd been roughly chastised by the head nurse on duty and ordered back to work.

So here he was, perhaps only feet away from Scott and totally terrified, though he was not a hundred percent sure of what. When they'd been apart, all he had wanted was to go to him and now that he had the chance . . .

_'Stop being such a bloody coward and get in there!'_ a voice from somewhere in his mind ordered. Matt obeyed, carefully easing the door open without knocking; trying to be as quiet as possible so Scott would not be disturbed if he was resting. Matt stopped dead in his tracks, his mind attempting to process what his eyes were seeing into something he could understand.

Scott, the most damaged of the four boys, had been given the room at the very end of the wing in the private section, where it was quietist. The only one with a balcony.

Scott was standing on the grey cement landing, barefoot and pajama-clad. He had his stomach pressed against the sterling railing and was leaning so far over the top that he was almost bent double, appearing as though the slightest breeze could send him over, one foot resting on the bottom rung as if prepared to assist the four-story descent.

Matt opened his mouth to cry out, then thought better of it. Instead, he threw his power out like a protective glove. Scott's limbs became abruptly rigid as the energy swept through his muscles, unable to move an inch. Carefully, concentrating on each separate component of Scott's form, Matt coaxed him silently away from the danger zone, pealing his fingers away one by one, taking his foot off of the railing and having him walk back into the room, one step at a time.

He didn't meet Scott's eyes until they were separated by a mere foot of space. When he did, his heart clenched painfully. Scott, who never gave into pain or fear, stood before him with tears tracing glowing trails down his cheeks to his jaw, falling in gentle droplets to the pale fabric encasing his shoulders.

"Scott . . ." Matt whispered, stepping forward and bringing his hand up to caress the other boy's face, stroking his pale fingertips under the leaking eyelids to catch the falling trickles and wipe them away. Scott sniffled quietly, closing his eyes as if to deny his hurt. He raised his left hand and laid it over Matt's on his face, as if to keep him there.

"He told me why I was chosen." Scott said softly, eyes still shut tight against the world. Matt opened his mouth to shush his friend but refrained as he continued. "You were right, Matt. Everything you feared would happen did. They were able to use me because I was damaged, weakened against their will. Because they knew you couldn't bring yourself to hurt me and there would be nothing I could do to stop Chaos from killing you."

Matt moved his mouth soundlessly, trying desperately to summon the words to banish the self-loathing layered in Scott's shaking voice from the boy's mind and heart, but unable to know how to phrase it.

"You should let me go, Matt. Then you can have Flint."

"I don't want Flint." Matt said, his eyes and voice becoming hard as stone. "I want _you,_ Scott. I _need_ you."

Scott shook his head, his hand still pressing Matt's own to his cheek, as if he could not bear to relinquish it. "Flint would've known what to do. Flint would help you better than I ever could. Flint isn't weak . . . "

"And neither are you!" Matt snapped, jerking his hand away from Scott's damp cheek harshly to seize both his biceps in a bruising grip, his fingers digging into the smooth skin beneath his sleeves, dragging his friend forwards so their chests were pressed together. "You listen to me, Scott Tyler, and you listen closely. Everything I ever said to you before was a load of bullshit, you understand? I was blind and plain stupid, not to see how valuable you are, back then. It wasn't me who saved us from Chaos, it was _you_. You didn't stop fighting, didn't stop trying to defeat him, trying to help us. I never could have done what I did without you. You realize that, don't you?"

"And you must realize that without me, none of this would've happened in the first place." Scott said miserably, lowering his chin down to his chest so he did not have to meet Matt's intense blue eyes. "Flint wouldn't have made my mistakes – "

_"Forget Flint!"_ Matt shouted, his grip on the other boy tightening still further. Making a great effort to lower his voice, Matt said forcefully, "D'you think I actually care about _Flint?_ It doesn't matter what Flint would or wouldn't have done in your situation or what he could do for us because he isn't you. Do you understand that?_ He's not you_ and 'cause of that he's irrelevant."

At last, Scott looked up, his eyes now dry, but still bloodshot and full of sadness. "Matt, think about it logically. I can't do this anymore. A war is starting here. You, and Jamie, and the others and the rest of the world will not survive it if you don't have him."

"And I won't survive it if I don't have _you_." Matt reached up to grab the nape of Scott's neck, suddenly dragging him forwards for an insistent though chaste kiss on the lips. He released the other boy after a few moments and pulled him closer still, resting his chin on his shoulder and wrapping his arms round his shoulders and waist in a close embrace. "I can't do this without you, Scott. It's my job to lead people in this war, and I can't handle that without you at my side. I trust you more than anyone else; you'll challenge me when you think I'm wrong, give me honest advice, have my back when I'm in danger, help me when I'm down. You're the only one, Scott. I won't trade you, not for Flint, not for anyone."

"The only one . . . " Matt heard Scott murmur in his ear, felt his throat vibrate against his shoulder as he spoke, basked in the warmth of his arms encasing him. Matt closed his eyes and turned his head to bury his nose in Scott's thick black hair, inhaling the scent, pressing his lips to the protected skin beneath. "I love you, Scott."

Matt fought back tears as he sensed Scott whisper, "I love you too," and squeezed the warm body in his arms tighter, settling into that odd calm and peace that you typically find in the eye of a hurricane.

**A/N: Well, that's it, story's over! Thank God *sighs in relief* hope it was okay for you lot and thanks again! P.S. HubrisP, I'll be answering you shortly, sorry for the delay!**


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